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THE  WOMAN'S  ASSOCIATION 


BETTERMENT  OF  PUBLIC  SCHOOL  HOUSES 


NORTH  CAROLINA 


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'A  GOOD   SCHOOL-HOUSE  IN  A  DISTRICT  BEGETS  A  SPIRIT  OF  SELF-RELIANCE 
THAT    WILL    HAVE    AN    ELEVATING    INFLUENCE    ON    INTELLECTUAL    AND 

social  life." — Joseph  E.  Robinson-. 


ISSUED  FROM  THE  OFFICE  OF  THE 

STATE  SUPERINTENDENT  OF  PUBLIC  INSTRUCTION 
Raleigh,  1905 


Library 

OF  TEE 

University  of  NortK  Carolina 
This  book  was  presented  by 


THE   WOMAN'S    ASSOCIATION 


BETTERMENT  OF  PUBLIC  SCHOOL  HOUSES 


NORTH   CAROLINA 


R.  D.W.CONNOR 


NORTH   CAROLINA   DEPARTMENT  OF   EDUCATION 


'The  public  free  schools  are  the  colleges  of  the  people  ;  they 
are  the  nurseries  of  freedom  ;  their  establishment  and  effi- 
ciency are  the  paramount  duty  of  a  republic.  the  education 
of  children  is  the  most  legitimate  object  of  taxation." ./.  l.  m. 

Curry, 


OFFICE   OF    THE 

STATE  SUPERINTENDENT  OF  PUBLIC  INSTRUCTION 

RALEIGH 


"Ignorance  is  either  a  good  thing  for  a  community  or  it  is  a 
had  thing.  The  means  with  which  to  banish  ignorance  can  be 
voted  into  a  community  or  they  can  be  voted  out.  A  good  school- 
house,  a  good  teacher,  and  a  good  library  are  the  deadliest  foes 
ignorance  has  :  thei'  can  be  voted  into  any  community  in  north 
Carolina.*' — Charles  L.  Coon. 


AN  ACKNOWLEDGMENT. 


In  the  preparation  of  this  bulletin  I  have  been  greatly  aided  by 
the  interest  displayed,  and  the  information  furnished,  by  the  officers 
of  the  Woman's  Association  for  the  Betterment  of  Public  School 
Houses  in  North  Carolina,  especially  by  Miss  Mary  Taylor  Moore, 
corresponding  secretary,  and  by  Miss  Mary  K.  Applewhite,  record- 
ing secretary. 

The  officers  of  the  association  will  be  glad  to  answer  any  questions, 
or  furnish  any  information,  with  regard  to  the  work,  plans  and  pur- 
poses of  the  association. 

R.  D.  W.  Connor. 


"Verily  1  say  unto  you,  Inasmuch  as  ye  have  done  it  unto  one 

of  the  least  of  these  my  brethren,  ye  have  done  it  unto  me." 

Jesus. 


INTRODUCTION. 


Recognizing  improvement  of  public  school  bouses  and  grounds  as 
one  of  tbe  first  steps  in  the  direction  of  improving  tbe  public  schools 
and  inspiring  the  confidence  and  pride  of  the  people  in  these  schools, 
I  have,  during  my  administration,  beginning  February,  1902,  endeav- 
ored to  foster  and  use  every  possible  means  for  the  accomplishment 
of  this  desirable  end.  A  ceaseless  campaign  has  been  carried  on  by 
county  superintendents  and  other  school  officers,  by  campaign  speak- 
ers and  other  patriotic  citizens,  by  the  press  of  the  state  and  by 
bulletins  issued  from  time  to  time  from  my  office  for  better  public 
school  houses  and  equipment  and  for  beautifying  the  school-rooms 
and  improving  the  school  grounds.  In  1903  a  pamphlet  containing 
plans,  cuts,  bills  of  material  and  specifications  for  improved  school- 
houses,  prepared  by  competent  architects  in  accordance  with  well 
established  principles  of  modern  school  architecture,  was  prepared, 
printed  and  distributed  from  the  office  of  the  superintendent  of  public- 
instruction.  The  school  law  was  amended  so  as  to  require  all  new 
school-houses  to  be  constructed  in  accordance  with  the  plans  con- 
tained in  this  pamphlet  or  with  some  plan  approved  by  the  state 
superintendent  of  public  instruction  and  the  county  board  of  educa- 
tion. In  1903  the  loan  fund  was  established  by  act  of  the  general 
assembly  creating  a  permanent  loan  fund,  amounting  now  to  $254,065 
and  increasing  each  year  by  four  per  cent,  interest  on  the  entire 
amount  loaned  and  by  the  proceeds  of  the  sale  of  swamp  lands  belong- 
ing to  the  state  board  of  education.  One-tenth  of  this  fund,  together 
with  the  annual  interest  on  the  entire  fund,  and  the  annual  proceeds 
from  the  sale  of  swamp  lands  is  available  every  year  as  a  loan  for 
building  and  improving  public  school  houses.  The  loans  are  repay- 
able in  ten  annual  installments,  with  four  per  cent,  annual  interest. 
This  loan  fund  has  proved  one  of  the  most  serviceable  agencies  in 
stimulating  and  aiding  the  erection  and  improvement  of  public  school 
houses.  In  March,  1902,  at  the  State  Normal  and  Industrial  College 
at  Greensboro,  the  Woman's  Association  for  the  Betterment  of  Public 
School  Houses  in  North  Carolina  was  organized,  and  it  has  proved 
one  of  the  most  practical  and  powerful  agencies  in  promoting  the 
work  of  improving  public  school  houses  and  grounds  in  the  state. 

Since  June  30,  1902,  1,133  rural  public  school  houses  have  been  built 
at  an  aggregate  cost  of  $490,272.44.  The  value  of  the  entire  public 
school  property  of  the  state  has  been  increased  from  $1,466,770.00  to 
$2,632,659.00;  the  average  value  of  rural  white  public  school  houses 
has    been    increased    to    $295.00 ;    1,267*    rural    public    school    libra- 


*  January  1,  1906. 


6 

ries,  containing  100,000  volumes,  valued  at  $40,000,  have  been 
established.  The  number  of  districts  without  houses  of  any  descrip- 
tion has  been  reduced  from  840  to  553.  The  number  of  log  school- 
houses  has  been  reduced  from  829  to  549.  For  the  year  ending  June 
30,  1905,  440  new  houses  were  built,  the  average  cost  of  which  was 
about  $400.00.  As  before  stated,  all  new  houses  erected  since  March, 
1903,  have  been  built  in  accordance  with  plans  approved  by  the  state 
superintendent  and  the  county  board  of  education,  and  have,  there- 
fore, been  built  in  accordance  with  the  established  principles  of  mod- 
ern school  architecture. 

Since  1902  much  valuable  work  has  also  been  done  in  furnishing 
and  beautifying  school-rooms,  in  painting  school-houses  and  in  im- 
proving school  grounds,  of  which  there  are  no  complete  and  accurate 
statistics. 

Recognizing  the  Woman's  Association  for  the  Betterment  of  Public 
School  Houses  as  one  of  the  most  helpful  agencies  in  the  accomplish- 
ment of  all  this  work,  and  as  one  of  the  most  practical  and  effective 
means  of  carrying  it  on,  I  have  requested  Mr.  Connor,  of  my  office, 
to  prepare,  with  the  assistance  of  its  officers,  this  bulletin  about  the 
history,  the  plans  and  purposes,  and  the  work  of  the  association. 

For  myself  and  my  co-laborers,  for  the  public  school  children  of  the 
state  and  for  all  friends  of  the  public  schools,  I  desire  to  express  to 
the  members  of  this  association  grateful  appreciation  of  their  valua- 
ble and  unselfish  service,  and  to  express  the  earnest  hope  that  the 
association  may  extend  its  organization  and  its  work  to  every  county 
in  the  state,  and  to  every  school  district  in  every  county. 

J.   Y.   JOYNEK, 

Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction. 
Raleigh,  N.  C,  January  2,  1906. 


PART  I. 


THE  ORGANIZATION. 

State  Association. 
County  Associations. 
Local  Associations. 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2012  with  funding  from 

University  of  North  Carolina  at  Chapel  Hill 


http://archive.org/details/womansassociatioOOconn 


OFFICERS 


THE  WOMAN'S   ASSOCIATION 


BETTERMENT  OF   PUBLIC   SCHOOL   HOUSES 


NORTH    CAROLINA. 


President    Mrs.  W.  R.  Holloweil Goldsboro,   X.  C. 

Vice-President    Mrs.   E.   E.  Moffitt Raleigh,  X.   C. 

Treasurer    Mrs.  L.  E.  Powell Whiteville,  X.  C. 

Corresponding   Sec.  ..Miss  Mary  Taylor  Moore.  .Greensboro,  X.   C. 

Recording   Sec Miss  Mary  K.  Applewhite.  .Greensboro,  X.  C. 

Field  Workers    Miss   Leah   Jones Xew  Bern,  X.  C. 

Miss  Viola  Boddie Xashville,  X.  C. 

Miss   Edith  Royster Raleigh,  X.  C. 

Mrs.  W.  R.  Holloweil Goldsboro,  X.  C. 

Miss  Mary  T.  Moore Mt.   Airy,  X.   C. 


CONSTITUTION 


THE  WOMAN'S  ASSOCIATION 


BETTERMENT  OF   PUBLIC  SCHOOL   HOUSES 


NORTH   CAROLINA. 


Article  I. 


Section  1.  The  name  of  this  organization  shall  be  "The  Woman's 
Association  for  the  Betterment  of  Public  School  Houses  in  North 
Carolina." 

Article  II. 

Section  1.  The  object  of  this  association  shall  be  to  unite  the 
women  citizens  of  North  Carolina,  for  tbe  purpose  of  awakening 
their  interest  in  the  improvement  of  public  school  houses  in  our 
state.  It  will  undertake  to  have  local  associations  in  every  county. 
Through  these  it  will  endeavor  to  interest  a  volunteer  association  in 
the  neighborhood  of  every  public  school  house,  which  will  help  to 
beautify  the  premises  by  planting  trees  and  flowers,  placing  pictures 
on  tbe  walls,  or  otherwise  improving  the  school  environment  of  our 
future  citizens ;  to  furnish  entertaining  and  instructive  amusements 
and  to  encourage  the  establishment  of  local  public  libraries. 

Article  III. 

Section  1.  Any  white  woman  interested  in  the  betterment  of  public 
school  houses  in  North  Carolina  shall  be  eligible  to  active  member- 
ship in  this  association. 

Sec  2.  Those  who  cannot  give  their  time  to  active  work  and  who 
wish  to  become  associate  members,  may  do  so  by  paying  an  annual 
fee  of  one  dollar. 

Article  IV. 

Section  1.  The  officers  of  this  association  shall  be :  a  president,  a 
vice-president,  a  recording  secretary,  a  corresponding  secretary,  a 
treasurer,  all  of  whom  shall  be  elected  at  each  annual  meeting. 


11 

Sec.  2.  The  duties  of  the  president  shall  be  to  preside  over  all 
meetings,  to  appoint  committees,  see  that  all  officers  and  committee 
members  are  notified  of  their  elections,  or  appointments,  and  to  see 
that  all  committees  are  organized  and  set  to  work  as  soon  as  possible 
after  their  appointment.  She  shall  hold  the  district  vice-presidents 
responsible  for  the  work  of  their  respective  districts.  On  retiring 
from  duty  she  shall  present  a  written  report  covering  her  term  of 
service,  with  recommendations  concerning  the  future  work  of  the 
association. 

Sec.  3.  The  duties  of  the  vice-president  shall  be  to  share  the 
responsibility  of  the  president,  and  in  the  absence  of  the  latter  she 
shall  assume  the  duties  of  both  offices.  The  president,  treasurer, 
recording  secretary,  together  with  six  other  members  of  the  associa- 
tion, not  residents  of  the  State  Normal  and  Industrial  College,  shall 
constitute  the  executive  committee.  These  six  members  shall  be 
appointed  by  the  president,  the  treasurer,  and  the  recording  secretary. 

Sec.  4.  The  duties  of  the  recording  secretary  shall  be  to  keep  full 
minutes  of  all  business  meetings  of  the  association  and  of  the  execu- 
tive committee.  She  shall  call  the  roll  at  annual  meetings  and  keep 
on  file  all  reports  read  there,  and  also  a  list  of  all  members  of  the 
association. 

Sec.  5.  The  corresponding  secretary  shall  conduct  all  correspond- 
ence of  the  association,  and  serve  as  a  medium  of  communication 
between  the  central  association  and  the  county  associations,  to  whose 
correspondence  she  shall  give  prompt  attention.  She  shall  notify 
all  officers  of  the  association  and  all  county  presidents  concerning 
the  date  and  place  of  meeting  two  weeks  before  the  annual  meeting. 

Sec  6.  The  treasurer  shall  have  charge  of  all  the  funds  of  the 
association,  under  the  direction  of  the  executive  committee.  She 
shall  collect  all  dues  and  keep  an  account  of  receipts  and  disburse- 
ments, which  shall  be  made  with  proper  vouchers. 

Sec  7.  If  any  vacancy  occur  in  the  offices  it  shall  be  filled  by  the 
executive  committee  of  the  association. 

Article  V. 

Section  1.  The  annual  meeting  of  the  association  shall  be  held 
during  the  annual  session  of  the  North  Carolina  Teachers'  Assembly, 
unless  the  executive  committee  shall  decide  in  some  particular  year 
to  hold  the  meeting  at  some  other  place. 

Article  VI. 

Section  1.  This  constitution  may  be  amended  at  any  annual  meet- 
ing by  the  votes  of  two-thirds  of  the  members  present. 


HISTORY. 


During  the  year  ending  June  30,  1902,  there  were  in  North  Caro- 
lina 8,094  public  school  districts.  Of  these  840  were  without  school- 
houses  of  any  description ;  829  had  log  huts.  The  total  value  of  all 
the  rural  public  school  property  in  the  state  was  $1,466,770,  and  aver- 
age value  for  each  house  of  $202.20.  As  these  estimates  include  the 
value  of  tbe  sites  as  well  as  of  the  buildings,  it  will  be  seen  that  the 
value  of  the  average  public  school  house  for  that  year  was  consid- 
erably less  than  $200.  This  average  house  is  accurately  and  faith- 
fully described  by  Mr.  Charles  L.  Coon.  He  says :  "The  scbool-house 
is  a  shabbily  built  board  structure,  one  story  high.  Tbe  overhead 
ceiling  is  not  more  tban  nine  feet  from  tbe  floor.  There  is  one  door 
in  tbe  end  of  tbe  house ;  there  are  six  small  windows,  three  on  either 
side.  There  are  no  blinds  and  no  curtains.  The  desks  are  home-made, 
witb  perpendicular  backs  and  seats,  all  the  same  size.  There  is  a 
dilapidated  wood  stove,  but  no  wood-box,  tbe  wood  for  the  fire  being 
piled  on  tbe  floor  about  the  stove.  The  stove  is  red  with  rust  and 
dirt,  never  having  been  polisbed  and  cleaned  since  it  was  placed  in 
position  for  use.  The  floor  of  the  house  is  covered  with  red  dirt  and 
litter  from  the  wood.  There  are  several  broom-sedge  brooms  lying  in 
one  corner  of  the  room.  The  occupied  blackboard  space  in  this  house 
is  just  eighteen  square  feet.  The  blackboard  is,  however,  too 
higb  for  the  children  to  use  well  and  it  is  too  small  for  anything  but 
a  bulletin-board.  There  is  no  teacher's  desk,  or  table.  There  is  one 
chair.  The  children's  hats  and  cloaks  are  hung  on  nails  around  the 
room.  The  walls  and  windows  are  covered  with  dust,  and  seem 
never  to  have  been  washed.  All  the  children's  books  are  soiled  and 
look  very  much  like  their  surroundings.  There  are  no  steps  to  this 
school-house.  An  inclined  plane  of  dirt  answers  that  purpose.  The 
yard  is  very  muddy  during  the  winter,  and  the  general  appearance 
of  the  place  anything  but  attractive." 

Evidently  here  lay  a  field  in  which  a  great  and  patriotic  service 
could  be  rendered  to  the  state.  The  initial  movement,  looking  to  the 
improvement  of  this  condition,  came  from  the  young  women  of  the 
State  Normal  and  Industrial  College  at  Greensboro.  On  March 
20,  1902,  at  the  call  of  President  Charles  D.  Mclver,  more  than  200 
of  them  met  in  the  college  chapel  to  formulate  plans  for  undertaking 
the  necessary  reforms.  From  this  meeting  resulted  the  organization 
of  The  Woman's  Association  for  the  Betterment  of  Public  School 
Houses  in  North  Carolina.  On  April  3d  the  first  public  meeting  of 
the  association  was  held  at  Greensboro.  Governor  Charles  B.  Aycock 
and  State  Superintendent  J.  Y.  Joyner  were  present  and  gave  their 
hearty  endorsement  to  the  plans  and  purposes  of  the  organization. 


Pleasant  Hill,  Henderson  County  (Old). 


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13 


The  members  were  also  assured  of  the  cordial  and  active  support  of 
the  Southern  Education  Board. 

The  significance  of  the  organization  was  promptly  recognized.  Let- 
ters and  messages  of  endorsement  came  from  all  parts  of  the  state. 
Public-spirited  women  hastened  to  enroll  themselves  as  members ;  the 
association,  which  at  first  included  only  school  girls  of  one  institu- 
tion in  its  membership,  soon  counted  on  its  roll  hundreds  of  women  in 
every  part  of  North  Carolina.  Teachers  and  county  superintendents 
eagerly  welcomed  an  organization  the  object  of  which  was  to  uphold 
their  hands  and  give  assistance  in  an  important  part  of  their  work, 
which  they  had  not  been  able  to  do  individually.  A  leading  news- 
paper which  has  long  been  in  the  forefront  of  the  fight  for  improved 
school  conditions  in  North  Carolina  expressed  the  feelings  of  the 
public  in  the  following  words :  "The  recent  organization  of  the 
women  of  North  Carolina  into  an  association  to  promote  the  building 
and  improvement  of  school-houses  in  the  rural  districts  is  an  event 
of  deep  satisfaction.  If  that  organization  can  be  extended  into  every 
school  district  in  the  state,  it  will  revolutionize  the  public  schools  of 
the  state.  *  *  *  The  poor  school-house  is  a  lion  in  the  path  of 
rapid  progress." 

The  constitution  of  the  association  provides  that,  unless  otherwise 
ordered  by  the  executive  committee,  the  annual  meeting  of  the  asso- 
ciation shall  be  held  during  the  annual  session  of  the  North  Carolina 
Teachers'  Assembly.  In  accordance  with  this  provision,  the  first 
annual  meeting  was  held  in  June,  1902,  at  Morehead  City.  At  this 
session  plans  were  formulated  for  the  first  summer's  campaign.  Ten 
young  women  offered  their  services  as  field  workers  to  canvass  cer- 
tain counties  for  the  purpose  of  arousing  general  interest  in  the 
work  and  of  organizing  branch  associations.  The  Southern  Edu- 
cation Board  generously  paid  their  expenses.  The  reports  of  two  of 
these  field  workers — one  in  the  east  and  one  in  the  west — will  be 
found  in  another  part  of  this  bulletin. 

The  second  annual  meeting  was  held  iu  Greensboro  in  May,  1903. 
The  large  number  of  men  and  women  in  attendance  is  the  best  evi- 
dence of  the  interest  which  had  been  aroused  in  the  state  by  the  pre- 
vious year's  work.  "From  the  mountains  to  the  sea,  from  New  Han- 
over to  our  sister  state  on  the  north,  came  women  with  the  wisdom 
of  experience,  women  with  the  widened  view  that  comes  from  travel 
and  a  knowledge  of  the  outside  world,  women  whose  youth,  while 
lacking  the  caution  of  experience,  furnished  the  enthusiasm  and 
courage  which  are  the  life-blood  of  any  new  enterprise.  Here  met 
the  young  mother  with  the  consecrated  old  maid,  the  wife  of  the 
politician  with  the  busy  helpmeet  of  the  farmer,  the  woman  of  society 
with  the  country  teacher  whose  busy  life  and  small  salary  permit, 
few  diversions  during  the  long,  busy  evenings  other  than  the  solu- 
tion of  partial  payments  to  prove  her  fitness  in  the  eyes  of  her  criti- 
cal patrons."    It  may  not  be  out  of  place  to  say  here  that  this  inter- 


14 


mingling  of  women  from  all  sections  of  the  state,  women  who  move 
in  different  classes  of  society,  women  whose  lives  touch  and  are 
colored  by  the  various  phases  of  our  complex  civilization,  in  a  com- 
mon, patriotic,  public  service,  is  one  of  the  most  important  results  of 
the  work  of  the  association.  It  means  for  them  all,  regardless  of 
their  position  or  condition  in  life,  a  widening  of  views  and  a  broaden- 
ing of  sympathies  that  must  prove  helpful  to  them  and  beneficial  to 
the  state.  A  number  of  county  superintendents  also  were  present  at 
this  May  meeting,  all  of  whom  entered  heartily  into  the  spirit  and 
work  of  the  organization.  Several  interesting  reports  were  read, 
which  revealed  the  important  and  significant  results  of  the  year's 
work,  and  showed  the  great  possibilities  of  the  association.  "Some 
of  the  reports  of  the  work  done  read  like  fairy  stories,  and  yet  they 
were  true,''  says  the  efficient  corresponding  secretary  of  the  associa- 
tion. A  few  of  these  reports  will  be  found  in  another  part  of  this 
bulletin. 

Two  other  annual  sessions  have  been  held — one  at  Raleigh  in  the 
summer  of  1904,  during  the  summer  school  at  the  North  Carolina 
Agricultural  and  Mechanical  College ;  the  other  at  Greensboro  in 
June,  1905,  during  the  annual  session  of  the  North  Carolina  Teachers' 
Assembly.  The  reports  read  at  these  meetings  revealed  a  constantly 
increasing  membership  and  a  continuously  growing  field  of  labor 
with  proportionate  results.  The  Woman's  Betterment  Association 
within  the  three  years  of  its  life  has  become  one  of  the  permanent 
educational  forces  of  the  state. 

PURPOSES  AND  PLANS. 

The  motives  which  actuated  the  students  of  the  State  Normal  and 
Industrial  College  in  organizing  the  Woman's  Betterment  Association 
are  well  expressed  in  one  of  their  bulletins :  "Realizing  that  under 
present  conditions,  and  with  the  present  surroundings  of  the  average 
school-house,  it  is  impossible  to  train  the  youth  of  the  state  properly, 
and  realizing  further,  that  unless  the  women  of  the  state  take  hold 
of  this  very  important  matter  it  will  remain  neglected,  the  students 
of  the  college  have  organized  themselves  and  call  upon  the  other 
women  of  the  state  to  join  them  in  making  attractive  and  habita- 
ble the  houses  in  which  our  children  spend  five  days  of  each  school 
week." 

The  purposes  and  plans  of  the  association  are  tersely  stated  in 
Article  II  of  the  constitution :  "The  object  of  this  association  shall 
be  to  unite  the  women  citizens  of  North  Carolina  for  the  purpose 
of  awakening  their  interest  in  the  improvement  of  public  school 
houses  in  our  state.  It  will  undertake  to  have  local  associations  in 
every  county.  Through  these  it  will  endeavor  to  interest  a  volunteer 
association  in  the  neighborhood  of  every  public  school  house,  which 
will  help  to  beautify  the  premises  by  planting  trees  and  flowers, 
placing  pictures   on    the   walls,    or   otherwise    improving   the   school 


15 


environment  of  our  future  citizens ;  to  furnish  entertaining  and 
instructive  amusements,  and  to  encourage  the  establishment  of  local 
public  libraries." 

As  summarized  by  the  president  of  the  state  association,  this  clause 
requires  the  members  to  hold  the  following  objects  constantly  in 
view :  1.  To  interest  the  patrons  of  the  public  schools  in  the  condi- 
tion of  the  houses  in  which  their  children  spend  so  much  of  their 
time ;  2.  To  make  the  school-house  the  center  of  the  social  life  in  the 
community  in  which  it  is  located ;  3.  To  make  the  school-house  the 
model  of  cleanliness  and  beauty  for  each  home  therein  represented ; 
4.  To  cultivate  a  love  for  the  beautiful  in  the  children  of  the 
state. 

The  plan  of  organization  contemplates  three  branches :  1.  The 
state  association ;  2.  The  county  association ;  3.  The  local  associa- 
tion. The  state  association  has  its  headquarters  in  Greensboro.  Its 
membership  includes  the  members  of  all  county  and  local  associations. 
All  white  women  in  the  state  are  eligible  for  membership.  They  pay 
no  dues ;  service  only  is  required.  Men  who  are  interested  in  this 
work  and  desire  to  help,  may  become  honorary  members  upon  the 
payment  of  a  fee  of  one  dollar.  The  state  association,  as  Miss  Moore 
says,  "attempts  little  of  the  real  work  of  improvement.  Its  principal 
work  is  to  organize  branch  associations  and  to(  help  them  carry  on  the 
work.  It  necessarily  deals  largely  with  theory.  It  gives  suggestions 
and  depends  upon  the  branch  associations  to  prove  their  practica- 
bility. It  gets  reports  of  the  work  from  the  different  parts  of  the 
state  and  tries  to  keep  the  branch  associations  in  touch  with  each 
other.  *  *  *  The  county  associations  are  composed  of  the  public- 
spirited  women  in  the  counties  in  which  there  are  organizations. 
*  *  *  It  is  the  county  association  that  has  to  do  the  real  work  of 
improvement.  The  plans  for  work  differ  in  different  counties.  Some 
work  by  means  of  the  local  or  voluntary  associations  organized  at  the 
school-houses,  while  others  depend  upon  each  teacher  to  interest  the 
people  of  the  community  so  that  they  will  assist  her  in  improving  her 
school  and  grounds.  The  local  or  voluntary  associations  *  *  * 
are  those  organized  at  the  separate  school-houses.  They  are  com- 
posed of  the  teacher,  the  children  and  the  parents.  The  members  of 
the  county  and  local  associations  are  the  ones  who  clear  off  the 
grounds,  plant  trees  and  flowers,  paint  the  house,  wash  the  windows, 
get  new  furniture,  and  put  books  and  pictures  into  the  room." 

RESULTS. 

The  results  of  the  work  of  the  association  reveal  the  great  need 
there  was,  and  is,  for  such  an  organization  in  North  Carolina.  It  is 
exceedingly  unfortunate  that  no  accurate  and  complete  reports  of 
this  work  have  been  obtained.  While  many  people  are  overly  zealous 
to  advertise  their  work,  others  seem  to  be  equally  as  eager  to  keep  a 
knowledge  of  theirs  from  the  public.     For  the  student  of  conditions 


16 


the  latter  type  is  the  harder  of  the  two  to  forgive.  Work  has  been 
done  in  North  Carolina  through  the  influence  of  the  Woman's  Better- 
ment Association,  by  hundreds  of  people  who  have  never  taken  the 
trouble  to  give  an  account  of  it  to  the  officers  of  the  association. 
The  necessity  for  making  accurate  and  complete  reports  can  scarcely 
be  too  strongly  emphasized ;  the  members  and  officers  of  the  associa- 
tions do  but  part  of  their  duty  if  they  leave  this  important  part  un- 
done. Every  person  who  does  any  work  for  the  association  should 
file  a  report  of  that  work  with  the  secretary  of  tbe  county  associa- 
tion, if  there  is  one ;  if  not,  then  with  the  secretary  of  the  state 
association,  before  the  first  day  of  May  of  each  year.  The  secretary 
of  tbe  county  association  should  file  with  the  secretary  of  the  state 
association  a  summary  of  the  reports  received  from  the  local  asso- 
ciation. In  another  place  in  this  bulletin  will  be  found  a  suggestion 
as  to  the  kind  of  report  that  ought  to  be  made. 

Perhaps,  however,  enough  reports  have  been  received  to  enable  the 
importance  of  the  work  which  the  association  has  done  to  be  clearly 
understood.  One  of  the  most  important  results  of  this  work  has  been 
the  bringing  into  the  field  other  co-operative  forces  working  toward 
the  same  end  as  the  association.  The  State  Normal  Magazine,  pub- 
lished at  tbe  State  Normal  and  Industrial  College  at  Greensboro,  has 
offered  its  pages  for  the  publication  of  the  reports  of  the  work  of 
county  associations.  Miss  Moore  well  says :  "If  possible,  each  county 
should  send  at  least  one  report  each  year  to  this  magazine.  In  this 
way  those  interested  in  the  work  may  have  one  source  to  which  they 
may  go  for  information  in  regard  to  the  work  and  progress  of  the 
association."  The  subscription  price  to  this  magazine  is  only  fifty 
cents  a  year,  and  so  is  within  reach  of  every  association.  The  fol- 
lowing paragraph  from  the  report  of  Miss  Moore  shows  the  value  of 
this  co-operative  work :  "Since  the  organization  of  the  association 
many  hundred  letters  have  been  written  to  county  superintendents, 
officers  of  local  associations,  and  teachers.  Literature  has  been  dis- 
tributed over  most  of  the  counties  of  the  state.  Through  Mr.  J.  B. 
Upham,  who  has  charge  of  that  department  of  the  paper,  The  Youth'' s 
Companion  has  very  kindly  given  us  a  large  number  of  pamphlets  on 
'Ideal  Public  Schools,'  'How  to  Set  Out  Shrubbery,'  etc. ;  also  three 
thousand  copies  of  'Free  Public  Education,'  a  little  pamphlet  set- 
ting forth  the  need  for  free  public  education  and  having  the  name 
of  tbe  Woman's  Association  printed  on  the  back.  The  Youth's  Com- 
panion also  gave  pictures,  which  many  of  our, schools  have  been  for- 
tunate enough  to  secure.  Mr.  O.  J. '  Kern,  superintendent  of  public 
instruction,  Winnebago,  111.,  sent  many  valuable  suggestions  on  the 
improvement  of  houses  and  grounds.  The  Perry  Picture  Company 
furnished  us  with  a  large  number  of  mounted  pictures  suitable  for 
school-room  decoration,  and  many  sample  pictures  to  be  distributed 
among  the  teachers.  Mr.  L.  H.  Bailey  of  Cornell  University  sent  one 
hundred   and   fifty    copies  of    'Agriculture   Bulletin   No.    160,'   which 


17 


have  been  distributed.  Mr.  Clarence  H.  Poe,  editor  of  The  Progres- 
sive Farmer,  offered  to  publish  any  article  on  our  work  that  we 
would  send.  Letters  bare  been  received  from  many  county  superin- 
tendents which  show  that  they  are  in  hearty  sympathy  with  our 
work.  On  all  sides  the  association  receives  expressions  of  hearty 
sympathy  and  co-operation." 

During  the  first  three  years  of  its  existence  the  association  sent 
representatives  into  forty-five  counties  in  the  state.  In  fifty-four 
counties,  county  associations  have  been  organized — twenty  during 
1902,  fifteen  during  1903,  and  nineteen  during  1904.  The  exact  num- 
ber of  local  associations  in  the  state  is  not  known,  as  many  have  been 
formed  which  have  not  been  reported  to  the  state  association,  but 
the  reports  that  have  been  received  show  an  average  of  three  for 
each  county  reporting.  If  this  average  holds  for  all  the  counties 
which  have  county  associations,  the  number  of  local  associations  in 
the  state  is  something  more  than  one  hundred  and  fifty.  The  mem- 
bership has  grown,  of  course,  in  the  same  proportion  as  the  number 
of  associations.  The  estimate  of  the  number  of  houses  improved 
through  the  work  of  the  Woman's  Betterment  Association  is  based 
upon  the  average  number  improved  in  those  counties  which  have 
reported.  These  reports  show  an  average  of  six  to  each  county  asso- 
ciation. The  average  increase  in  the  value  of  these  houses  in  the 
fifty -four  counties  having  county  associations  is  $150  (not  including 
new  houses),  making  a  total  increase  in  the  value  of  school-houses 
through  the  influence  of  the  association  of  no  less  than  .$48,600. 

Perhaps  the  best  way  in  which  to  give  an  adequate  idea  of  the 
work  done  by  the  association  during  the  first  three  years  of  its  exist- 
ence is  to  present  a  condensed  account  of  its  work  in  a  few  of  the 
counties  from  which  reports  have  been  received.  In  Caldwell  county 
eight  schools  obtained  libraries.  Cleveland  county  organized  an  asso- 
ciation which  affected  all  the  public  schools  in  the  county.  During 
1903  the  county  association  raised  $150  for  improvements.  There 
were  twelve  libraries  established  and  twelve  houses  improved  through 
the  influence  of  the  association,  the  value  of  which  was  increased 
from  $1,800  to  $5,000.  In  Columbus  county  the  association  improved 
thirty  schools.  Two  of  these  schools  raised  $50  for  pictures.  Cum- 
berland county  reported  that  every  school  in  the  county  was  reached 
by  the  association,  and  that  $75  was  raised  during  the  year  for  im- 
provements. In  Dare  county  a  large  number  of  pictures  were  placed 
in  the  schools,  $150  raised  for  libraries  and  $50  for  other  improve- 
ments. An  "enthusiastic  branch"  was  reported  from  Greene  county 
affecting  twenty-three. schools.  The  association  raised  $50  for  libra- 
ries and  $115  for  other  improvements.  In  Henderson  county  every 
woman  teacher  in' the  county  was  a  member  of  the  association,  all 
the  schools  of  the  county  were  reached,  and  $60  was  raised  for  libra- 
ries.    Madison  county  association   reported  $11.45  for  pictures,  $55 


18 

for  libraries,  and  $250  for  other  improvements.  In  Rockingham 
county  there  was  a  large  association,  affecting  seventy-two  schools. 
They  raised  $50  for  pictures,  $165  for  libraries,  and  $25  for  other 
improvements.  During  the  year  five  hundred  pictures  were  hung  on 
the  walls  of  the  public  school  houses  and  twelve  libraries  were  estab- 
lished. Two  houses,  valued  at  $2,300,  were  built  through  the  influ- 
ence of  the  association.  Sampson  county  reported  that  sixty  schools 
were  affected  by  the  association,  $10  raised  for  pictures,  $275  for 
libraries,  and  $1,500  for  other  improvements.  Libraries  were  placed 
in  twelve  schools  and  two  hundred  pictures  were  hung.  In  Surry 
county  an  association  was  organized  with  seventy-five  members. 
Every  school  in  the  county  was  reached.  Through  the  influence  of 
the  association  twenty-three  new  houses  were  built,  increasing  the 
valuation  from  $1,200  to  $5,750.  Wake  county  reported  an  active 
association,  affecting  fifty  per  cent,  of  the  schools.  In  Wayne  county 
an  association  was  organized  with  230  active  members  and  fifteen 
associate  members.  During  the  year  forty-three  schools  were  reached. 
The  association  raised  $75  for  pictures,  $464  for  libraries,  $120  for 
other  improvements,  hung  206  framed  pictures,  and  helped  to  estab- 
lish forty-one  libraries. 

The  following  brief  report  from  Mrs.  Hollowed,  president  of  the 
state  association,  will  give  an  idea  of  how  these  results  have  been 
accomplished,  and  the  kind  of  labor  that  is  necessary.     She  says : 

"I  represented  the  work  to  the  county  superintendents  when  they 
were  in  Raleigh.  I  attended  the  teachers'  institute  in  Beaufort 
county.  This  was  held  at  Washington,  and  here  I  organized  an 
association.  Money  was  raised  for  two  scholarships.  I  went  to 
Clinton  in  Sampson  county  to  speak  to  the  teachers'  institute.  I  rep- 
resented the  work  of  the  woman's  association  at  the  state  meeting  of 
the  Woman's  Federation  of  Clubs  at  Concord.  Then  I  went  to  Char- 
lotte and  spoke  to  the  woman's  club ;  then,  at  Fayetteville,  I  re- 
organized an  association.  I  spoke  in  Tarboro  to  the  teachers'  insti- 
tute, and  formed  an  association  of  thirty-two  members.  I  attended 
the  Randolph  teachers'  institute.  At  the  institute  held  at  Whiteville, 
Columbus  county,  I  organized  an  association.  Here  money  was 
pledged  for  two  scholarships  to  some  summer  school.  I  had  one  meet- 
ing at  Chadbourne.  I  attended  the  Teachers'  Assembly  at  Wrights- 
ville  and  spoke  on  the  association  work.  Much  interest  was  mani- 
fested, both  by  the  teachers  and  by  the  county  superintendents.  I 
attended  an  institute  in  Wayne  county.  Here  money  was  pledged  for 
a  scholarship  to  some  summer  school.  I  attended  the  summer  school 
at  Raleigh  and  spoke  to  the  teachers  on  the  association's  work." 

Miss  Jones,  another  very  efficient  worker,  gives  the  following  sum- 
mary of  her  work  for  the  association :  "Since  the  organization  of  the 
Woman's  Association  for  the  Betterment  of  Public  School  Houses  in 
North  Carolina  I  have  represented  the  association,  during  my  vaca- 
tions,   in   fourteen   counties,   organized   five  county   associations   and 


19 


thirty-seven  local  associations,  spoken  to  seven  county  teachers'  insti- 
tutes, reaching  teachers  from  eighteen  counties ;  spoken  to  people  at 
five  summer  resorts,  visited  thirty-nine  different  places,  and  have 
met  in  all  fifty-seven  appointments,  speaking  to  audiences  that  varied 
from  sis  to  two  hundred  and  fifty  in  number." 

Other  reports,  in  more  detail  than  these,  will  be  found  in  another 
part  of  this  bulletin. 


THE  COUNTY  ASSOCIATION. 


The  best  time  to  organize  a  county  branch  of  the  Woman's  Better- 
ment Association  is  at  some  meeting  of  the  county  teachers,  either  at 
the  county  teachers'  institute  or  at  a  regular  meeting  of  the  teachers' 
association.  All  white  women  of  the  county,  whether  they  are  teach- 
ers or  not,  should  be  invited  to  become  members  of  the  association, 
the  only  condition  being  that  they  shall  be  willing  to  contribute  to  the 
work  of  the  organization.  But  it  must  not  be  forgotten  that  the 
teachers  must  take  the  lead  in  this  work,  as  in  all  other  school  work. 
It  will  be  impossible  to  interest  others  unless  the  teachers  them- 
selves are  actively  interested.  Any  one  who  is  willing  to  do  so  may 
organize  a  county  association.  She  should  first  communicate  with  the 
officers  of  the  state  association,  who  will  be  glad  to  give  suggestions 
and  aid,  and,  perhaps,  to  send  a  representative  to  help  in  getting  the 
association  under  way.  The  purpose,  plans  and  work  of  the  associa- 
tion should  be  explained  to  those  who  expect  to  become  members. 
School-house  architecture,  school-room  decoration,  the  proper  care  of 
school-rooms  and  school-yards — these  and  other  similar  subjects  re- 
lating to  the  well-kept  school  should  be  carefully  and  fully  discussed 
before  the  members  by  those  who  have  made  themselves  familiar 
with  these  things.  The  value  of  co-operation  as  contrasted  with  un- 
organized efforts  should  be  strongly  impressed  upon  the  members. 
Although  an  individual  teacher,  by  her  unaided  efforts,  may  improve 
her  school-house  and  grounds  without  belonging  to  an  association, 
yet  her  work  will  not  mean  as  much  to  the  community  as  it  will 
mean  if  it  is  done  by  the  co-operation  of  the  patrons  of  the  schools 
and  other  public-spirited  citizens  of  the  county.  The  uniting  of  the 
people  of  the  county  in  a  common  effort  to  promote  a  public  enter- 
prise is  not  the  least  important  phase  of  this  woman's  movement. 

After  these  discussions  are  closed,  all  who  desire  to  do  so  should 
enroll  their  names  for  membership.  Those  so  enrolled  should  then 
adopt  a  constitution,  a  model  of  which  appears  below.  This  constitu- 
tion will  enumerate  the  officers  to  be  elected,  and  an  election  should 
be  held  at  once.  Great  care  should  be  taken  in  the  selection  of  these 
officers.  They  should  not  only  be  interested  in  the  work,  but  also 
should  have  time  to  give  their  attention  to  it.  The  success  of  the 
association  will  depend  largely  upon  the  enthusiasm  and  ability  of 
its  officers.  They  should  visit  the  schools,  attend  the  sessions  of  local 
associations,  give  suggestions  and  encouragement  to  the  teachers  and 
officers,  siiggest  courses  of  reading,  and  outline  programs  for  the 
meetings.  Much  good  can  be  accomplished  if  they  will  secure  per- 
mission from  the  editors  of  local  newspapers  to  discuss  in  their 
columns  the  plans,  purpose  and  work  of  the  association.  Most  edi- 
tors will  be  glad  to  help  in  the  work  in  this  way.     At  the  annual 


North  Wilkesboro,  Wilkes  County  (Old). 


North  Wilkesboro,  Wilkes  County  (New). 


21 


meetings  of  the  county  association  reports  from  all  the  local  associa- 
tions in  the  county  should  be  read.  It  is  a  good  plan  to  have  certain 
of  the  teachers  who  have  done  the  best  work  to  read  papers  telling 
how  they  accomplished  their  results.  A  report  of  all  the  work 
done  in  the  county  during  the  year  should  be  sent  to  the  correspond- 
ing secretary  of  the  state  association.  The  importance  of  this  can 
scarcely  be  overestimated. 

The  following  is  suggested  as  a  model  for  the  constitution  of  county 
associations ;  it  can  be  changed  to  suit  local  conditions : 

CONSTITUTION 


COUNTY  ASSOCIATION 


BETTERMENT    OF    PUBLIC    SCHOOL    HOUSES. 


Aeticle  I. 


Section  1.   The  name  of  this  organization  shall  be  The  

County  Association  for  the  Betterment  of  Public  School  Houses. 

Aeticle  II. 

Section  1.   The  purposes  of  this  association  shall  be : 

I.  To  arouse  interest  in  the  educational  conditions,  problems  and 
work  in county. 

II.  To  interest  the  people  of  the  county  in  the  improvement  of  their 
schools. 

III.  To  establish  a  local  association  in  every  school  district  in  the 
county. 

Aeticle  III. 

Section  1.  Any  white  woman  interested  in  this  work  may  become 
an  active  member  without  the  payment  of  any  fee ;  any  white  man 
may  become  an  associate  member  upon  the  payment  of  a  fee  of  fifty 
cents. 

Aeticle  IV. 

Section  1.  The  officers  of  this  association  shall  be :  a  president,  a 
vice-president,  a  secretary  and  treasurer.  There  shall  be  an  execu- 
tive committee,  composed  of  the  officers  and  four  other  members.  All 
officers  shall  be  chosen  by  ballot  at  each  annual  meeting. 

Aeticle  V. 

Section  1.  This  association  shall  hold  an  annual  meeting  at  such 
time  and  place  as  shall  be  designated  by  the  president. 


22 


Aeticle  VI. 

Section  1.  This  association  shall  send,  through  its  secretary,  a  full 
report  of  the  year's  work  to  the  corresponding  secretary  of  the  State 
Association  for  the  Betterment  of  Public  School  Houses,  on  or  before 
the  first  day  of  May  in  each  year. 

Akticxe  VII. 

Section  1.  This  constitution  may  be  amended  at  any  annual  meet- 
ing by  a  vote  of  two-thirds  of  the  members  present. 


THE  LOCAL  ASSOCIATION. 


The  third  clause  of  Article  II  of  the  suggested  constitution  for 
county  associations  says  that  one  of  the  purposes  of  the  county 
organization  shall  be  "to  establish  a  local  association  in  every  school 
district  in  the  county."  This  is  the  real  end  for  which  the  state  and 
county  associations  exist.  It  has  been  well  said :  "Whatever  method 
the  county  association  may  pursue  to  reach  its  end — letters,  visits, 
leaflets,  scholarships — the  end  is  the  organization  of  an  active,  aggres- 
sive, progressive  and  untiring  local  association  in  each  district  for 
the  betterment  of  its  own  school-house."  This  local  association 
should  be  composed  of  the  teacher,  the  pupils  of  the  school  and  the 
parents  of  the  pupils.  The  teacher  must  never  lose  sight  of  the  fact 
that  he  or  she  must  be  the  real  leader  in  this  work.  There  are  few 
communities  in  which  the  people  are  not  willing  to  follow  the  intelli- 
gent leadership  of  an  active,  interested  and  interesting  teacher ; 
there  are  still  fewer  communities  in  which  the  people  will  do  any- 
thing if  the  teacher  is  inactive,  uninterested  and  uninteresting.  The 
responsibility  rests  on  the  teacher,  and  there  is  where  it  ought  to 
rest. 

What  can  the  local  association  do?  To  paraphrase  the  language  of 
Mrs.  Hollowell,  it  can  have  a  new  school-house  built,  or  the  old  one 
repaired  and  painted ;  it  can  have  rough  and  comfortless  benches 
exchanged  for  good  desks ;  it  can  have  blackboards  multiplied ;  it  can 
have  the  floor  scrubbed,  the  stove  polished,  the  windows  washed;  it 
can  have  shades  or  curtains  added  to  the  windows ;  it  can  have  pic- 
tures placed  on  the  walls ;  it  can  secure  a  library  and  keep  it  grow- 
ing ;  it  can  bring  into  the  school  good  magazines  and  papers ;  it  can 
give  interesting  and  profitable  entertainments,  which  will  be  of  no 
less  value  to  the  community  than  to  the  school ;  it  can  beautify  the 
school  grounds  by  having  stumps  removed,  grass  and  flowers  planted 
and  play-grounds  laid  off ;  finally,  it  can  uphold  the  hands  of  the 
teacher,  help  her,  encourage  her,  and  stimulate  her  in  her  difficult 
and  trying  work.  This  work  will  interest  the  community  in  the  com- 
munity's school  and  the  conirnunity's  children ;  it  will  teach  the  few 
to  subordinate  personal  advantages  to  the  welfare  of  the  whole ;  it 
will  discourage  those  two  most  bitter  and  most  fatal  foes  to  educa- 
tional progress — local  prejudices  and  neighborhood  misunderstand- 
ings. This  is  the  work  that  the  local  association,  and  only  the  local 
association,  can  do. 


CONSTITUTION 

OF    THE 

LOCAL    ASSOCIATION 

FOR    THE 

BETTERMENT    OF    THE PUBLIC    SCHOOL. 

Article  I. 

Section  1.  The  name  of  this  organization  shall  be  the  Association 
for  the  Betterment  of  the Public  School. 

Article  II. 

Section  1.    The  purposes  of  this  organization  shall  be : 

I.  To  arouse  interest  in  education  and  to  insist  upon  the  impor- 
tance of  every  child  being  in  school  every  day  of  the  school  term. 

II.  To  unite  all  the  people  of  this  community  for  the  improvement 
of  our  public  school  (1)  by  placing  in  the  school  facilities  for  health, 
comfort  and  education,  together  with  objects  of  beauty;  (2)  by 
planting  trees,  shrubs  and  flowers  in  the  school  grounds;  (3)  by  en- 
couraging the  establishment  of  a  public  library  in  connection  with 
the  school ;  (4)  by  making  the  school  the  center  of  the  community  by 
furnishing  wholesome  and  instructive  amusements ;  in  a  word,  to 
improve  the  physical  and  intellectual  environments  of  our  future 
citizens. 

Article  III. 

Section  1.  Anybody  interested  in  the  objects  of  this  association 
may  become  an  active  member  by  the  payment  of  an  annual  fee  of 
....  cents  for  adults,  ....  cents  for  children.  Any  one  unable  to 
give  active  service  may  become  an  honorary  member  of  this  associa- 
tion by  the  payment  of  an  annual  fee  of  ....  cents.* 

Article  IV. 

Section  1.  The  officers  of  this  association  shall  be:  a  president, 
a  vice-president,  a  secretary  and  treasurer,  and  a  librarian,  who  shall 
be  elected  at  each  annual  meeting. 

Article  V. 

Section  1.  This  association  shall  meet  regularly  once  a  month,  or 
oftener  at  the  call  of  the  president. 


*Each  local  association  must  decide  for  itself  on  the  advisability  of  including-  Article  III. 


25 


Article  VI. 

Section  1.  That  this  association  may  be  in  touch  with  the  general 
work  for  the  betterment  of  public  schools  throughout  the  state  and 
county,  it  shall  enroll  itself  with  the  secretary  of  the  county  associa- 
tion for  the  betterment  of  public  schools  and.  send  to  her  a  formal 
report  of  its  progress  at  least  twice  a  year. 

Article  VII. 

Section  1.  This  constitution  may  be  amended  at  any  annual  meet- 
ing by  a  vote  of  two-thirds  of  the  members  present. 


ANNUAL  REPORT  OF  LOCAL  ASSOCIATIONS. 


Each  local  association  should  file  with  the  county  association  a 
report  of  the  work  done  during  the  year.  If  there  is  no  county 
association,  then  the  report  should  be  sent  direct  to  the  corresponding 
secretary  of  the  state  association.  The  report  should  show  the  fol- 
lowing items  : 

I.     Organization. 

Year  beginning    ,   190 .  .  ;   ending    ,   190 .  . 

1.  Name  of  county. 

2.  Name  of  township  and  district. 

3.  Name  of  school   (every  school  ought  to  be  named). 

4.  Name  and  post-office  address  of  teacher. 

5.  Names  and  post-office  addresses  of  committeemen. 

6.  Names  and  post-office  addresses  of  officers  of  the  association. 

7.  Enrollment  in  school. 

8.  Average  daily  attendance  in  school. 

9.  Number  of  members  of  association :    pupils,  parents,  associate. 


II.     Interior   Improvements. 


Number. 


Amount 
Spent. 


9. 
10. 
11. 
12. 
13. 
14. 
15. 
10. 
17. 


Library    books 

Book-cases     

Papers  and  magazines 

Untrained  pictures    

Framed  pictures    

Pupils'  desks    

Teachers'  desks   

Square  feet  of  blackboard. 

Maps  and  globes 

Curtains  and  shades - 

Stoves   

Wash-basins    

Towels    

Door-mats    

Brooms  

Square  feet  of  kalsomining '.  . . 
Square  feet  of  interior  paintim 


III.     Exterior  Improvements. 


Number. 


Amount 
Spent. 


1.  Building   

2.  Square  feet  of  exterior  painting 

3.  Windows  washed 

4.  Window-panes  put  in 


27 


Number. 


Amount. 
Spent. 


5.  Window-blinds  bung 

6.  Wells  dug  or  cleaned  out. 

7.  Buckets    

8.  Water-stands    

9.  Wasb-stands    

10.  Closets    

11.  Stumps  removed 

12.  Rubbisb  removed 

13.  Walks  laid  out 

14.  Ditcbes  or  drains  made.  . 

15.  Grass-plots  laid  off 

16.  Trees  planted  

17.  Shrubs  planted 

18.  Flowers  planted 


IV.     Funds  Raised. 


1.  By  associate  membersbip  fees 

2.  By  contributions   

3.  By  entertainments    

4.  By  otber  methods  (itemize  methods) 


REPORT  OF  COUNTY  ASSOCIATION. 

The  report  of  the  county  association  to  the  state  association  should 
be  a  summary  of  the  reports  of  the  local  associations  to  it.  The  best 
report  which  any  association  can  make  is  a  photograph  of  the  house 
and  grounds  before  improvement  and  a  photograph  after  improve- 
ments. 


PART 


REPORTS  FROM  THE  FIELD. 


"I  SEE  A  DAY,  AND  GOD  GRANT  IT  MAY  NOT  BE  FAB  DISTANT.  WHEN  WE 
CAN  DOT  OTJB  NOBLE  STATE,  BEGIATNLNG  WITH  ROWAN  COUNTY.  WITH 
THESE  MODEL  LOG  SCHOOL-HOUSES.  THEN  THE  OPPROBRIUM  OF  "THE  LOG 
CABIN  AND  THE  PINE  TREE'  WILL  BE  DONE  AWAY  WITH.  AND  WOMEN 
WILL  COUNT  IT  AN  HONOR  TO  BE  OF  THIS  'LOG-HOUSE  WORK.'  WHEN  WE 
REALIZE  WHAT  SUCH  THINGS  MEAN.  OUR  BOYS  AND  GIRLS  WILL  LOVE  THE 
COUNTRY  SCHOOL;  THEY  WILL  BE  CONTENTED  WITH  1HE  COUNTRY  NEIGH- 
BORHOODS WHERE  SUCH  'LOG  SCHOOL-HOUSES."  WHICH  BREAK  THE 
WEARY  MONOTONY,  ARE  MAINTAINED  ;  THEY  WILL  LOVE  THE  LAND  THAT 
CALLS  FOR  THEM   TO  STAY  AND  YEARNS  IN  UNCULTIVATED  LONELINESS   FOR 

them  to  return." — Mrs.  Charles  Price. 


Williamsburg.  No.  2,  Rockingham  County  (Old). 


Williamsburg,  No.  3,  Rockingham  County  (Old). 


Williamsburg,  Nos.  2  and  3,  Consolidated,  Rockingham  County  (New). 


WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


Report  of  Work  Done  by  Miss  Mary  Taylor  Moore  in  Western 
North.  Carolina  During  1902. 


Last  summer,  at  the  meeting  of  the  Woman's  Association  for  the 
Betterment  of  Public  School  Houses  held  at  Morehead  City,  there 
were  ten  women  who  promised  to  do  all  in  their  power  during  the 
summer  to  accomplish  the  objects  of  this  association.  They  resolved 
to  arouse  the  interest  of  the  people  in  the  matter  and  to  form  branch 
associations  to  carry  on  the  work.  It  was  my  privilege  to  be  one  of 
the  ten. 

My  district  lay  in  the  western  part  of  the  state,  a  mountainous  sec- 
tion. But,  before  beginning  work  there,  I  happened  to  be  in  an  east- 
ern county  while  a  teachers'  institute  was  being  held.  Feeling  that 
such  an  opportunity  of  laying  the  matter  before  the  people  should  not 
be  missed,  I  arranged  an  hour  at  which  I  could  speak  informally  to 
the  women  present.  While  I  felt  that  it  would  be  much  easier  to 
speak  to  the  women  alone,  the  men  who  were  interested  in  the  matter 
were  invited  to  stay.  A  good  many  of  them  did  so.  As  briefly  as 
possible  the  objects  of  the  association  were  laid  before  them,  their 
attention  being  called  to  the  need  for  better  school-houses  and  the 
ways  in  which  the  houses  that  now  exist  may  be  improved.  Finally, 
I  urged  them  to  form  a  branch  association,  so  that  the  work  of  im- 
provement might  be  carried  on  systematically  in  their  county.  They 
seemed  much  interested  and  readily  organized,  with  thirty-three  mem- 
bers. This  was  in  a  cultured  section,  where  the  work  was  taken  up 
by  women  of  prominence.  The  wife  of  a  justice  of  the  supreme  court 
and  many  other  well-known  women  joined  in  the  work  with  the  pub- 
lic school  teachers,  all  being  drawn  together  by  a  common  interest, 
the  welfare  of  the  children  of  the  state. 

Turning  toward  the  west,  I  knew  not  where  to  begin.  That  section 
is  sparsely  populated,  so  a  house-to-house  visitation,  such  as  was 
being  carried  on  by  some  of  the  other  women,  was  impossible ;  nor 
could  I  hear  of  any  school-closings  or  big  picnics  to  attend.  So  there 
was  nothing  to  be  done  but  to  confine  my  work  to  the  teachers'  insti- 
tutes and  place  the  matter  in  the  hands  of  the  teachers,  thus  getting 
them  interested  and  trusting  in  them  to  interest  the  parents  of  the 
children. 

In  going  to  the  first  of  these  institutes  I  rode  many  miles,  finally 
reaching  a  little  town  perched  right  up  on  the  side  of  the  mountain 
where  the  institute  was  to  be  held.  In  this  county  the  school-houses 
were  in  a  deplorable  condition.  I  believe  it  was  here  that  the  county 
superintendent  said  the  cracks  in  the  sides  of  some  of  the  houses  were 
large  enough  to  throw  a  dog  through.     But  the  superintendent  was 


32 


progressive  and  the  teachers  seemed  interested  and  willing  to  improve 
conditions.  To  this  place  I  took  with  me  some  good  cheap  pictures 
and  other  things  necessary  in  a  school-room,  to  show  that  they  were 
cheap  enough  to  be  procured  even  by  the  poorest  communities.  Here 
again  I  spoke  informally  to  the  entire  institute,  and  a  large  and 
enthusiastic  branch  of  fifty-three  members  was  formed.  A  good  many 
of  the  men  became  associate  members  by  paying  the  one-dollar  fee 
that  is  charged  a  man  before  he  can  become  a  member.  It  was  said 
that  the  young  woman  elected  president  of  this  branch  was  the  only 
teacher  in  the  county  who  had  made  any  attempt  at  improving  the 
appearance  of  her  school-room  during  the  previous  year.  This  asso- 
ciation held  a  second  meeting  the  next  day  to  decide  on  a  plan  of 
work  for  the  year.  The  school  districts  were  apportioned  to  different 
members,  who  were  to  have  personal  supervision  of  them.  As  it  is 
impossible  for  them  to  meet  oftener,  these  members  will  report  on  the 
work  that  they  have  done  at  annual  meetings  of  the  institute. 

In  the  next  county  that  I  visited  conditions  were  better.  Several 
new  school-houses  were  being  built,  and  some  of  the  teachers  had 
already  taken  special  interest  in  the  cleanliness  and  pleasing  appear- 
ance of  their  school-rooms  and  grounds.  In  this  county  is  situated 
the  handsomest  rural  public  school  house  in  the  state.  It  is  built  of 
solid  granite,  the  wood-work  being  of  hard-oak.  At  this  place  we  had 
a  more  general  meeting,  the  teachers  giving  each  other  and  me  many 
valuable  suggestions  and  experiences.  After  having  organized,  a  plan 
of  work  was  laid  out  that  can  hardly  fail  to  produce  good  results. 

The  last  place  that  I  visited  was  the  most  discouraging  of  all. 
Here  I  spoke  not  only  to  the  teachers  but  to  the  people  from  the  sur- 
rounding country  who  had  assembled  to  hear  an  educational  address 
by  an  ex-superintendent  of  public  instruction.  These  people  not  only 
were  not  especially  interested,  but  declined  to  become  so.  A  few, 
however,  organized,  and  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  they  can  at  least  do 
something  to  create  a  sentiment  that  will  call  for  better  and  cleaner 
school-houses. 

As  yet,  not  very  many  practical  results  have  been  reported  from 
that  section  of  the  state,  but  I  trust  that  since  the  matter  has  been 
laid  before  them  the  teachers  will  take  up  the  work  to  such  an  extent 
that  the  dirty  and  worthless  school-houses  that  exist  to-day  may  soon 
become  things  of  the  past.  Maey  Tayxok  Mooee, 

Secretary  of  the  Woman's  Association. 

August  1,  1903. 


EASTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


The  Work  of  Miss  Leah  D.  Jones  in  Several  North  Carolina 
Counties  During-  the  Summer  of  1902. 


The  following  is  a  condensed  account  of  the  work  of  Miss  Leah  D. 
Jones  of  Craven  county,  one  of  the  supervising  teachers  in  the  prac- 
tice school  of  the  North  Carolina  State  Normal  College,  in  promoting 
better  educational  conditions  in  several  North  Carolina  counties  dur- 
ing the  summer  of  1902 : 

THE    BEGINNING. 

My  aim  was  to  reach  as  many  communities  as  possible  and  to 
interest  as  many  individuals  as  possible  in  the  work  of  the  better- 
ment of  the  public  school  houses. 

My  first  step  was  to  see  the  superintendent  of  Craven,  my  own 
county,  and  to  write  to  the  superintendents  of  Jones  and  Onslow.  I 
found  that  there  was  to  be  no  teachers'  institute  in  any  of  these  three 
counties,  and  the  lack  of  interest  in  education  made  it  impossible  to 
get  a  gathering  of  people  by  simply  calling  a  meeting  to  talk  about 
school-houses ;  so  I  made  up  my  mind  to  attend  picnics  and  church 
meetings  wherever  I  could  hear  of  them  and  could  reach  them,  and 
there  talk  to  the  people,  gathered  for  other  purposes,  on  this  all- 
important  subject. 

From  the  superintendent  I  got  a  list  and  a  map  of  the  townships 
of  Craven  county,  the  school  committeemen  of  each  township,  the 
county  board  of  education,  and  the  teachers  of  the  county.  I  then 
sent  one  of  our  little  pamphlets  to  each  of  these,  and  wrote  a  letter 
to  each  committeeman  asking  him  to  notify  me  of  any  gatherings  of 
any  kind  to  be  held  in  his  neighborhood,  and  also  asked  if  there  would 
be  any  chance  of  my  getting  a  meeting  of  the  ladies  to  discuss  the 
school-house  question.  I  wrote  similar  letters  to  the  superintendents 
of  Joues  and  Onslow.  I  received  replies  from  only  six  out  of  the 
thirty  letters  to  committeemen  and  superintendents. 

Then  I  determined  to  find  out  the  meetings  myself  and  to  hunt  up 
the  school-houses  and  go  into  the  very  homes  of  the  people  and  talk 
to  them  there.  Our  superintendent  had  been  in  office  only  a  short 
time  and  was  not  able  to  tell  me  names. 

My  youngest  brother  was  at  home  for  a  vacation ;  so  I  pressed  him 
into  service  as  driver,  hired  a  horse  and  buggy,  and  on  Friday,  June 
27th,  we  crossed  the  river  and  "took  to  the  woods,"  not  knowing  a 
mile  of  the  road.  This  district  had  been  inaccessible  to  New  Bern 
until  within  the  last  two  years,  except  by  small  sail-boats. 

We  knew  of  a  Mr.  Latham,  a  very  intelligent,  well-informed  and 
public-spirited  man  who  lived  across  the  river ;  so  we  inquired  the 


34 

way  to  bis  house  and.  went  there  for  dinner.  He  and  his  family  were 
intensely  interested  in  our  proposed  work,  and,  besides  some  valuable 
suggestions  and  information  concerning  the  conditions  and  disposi- 
tions of  the  people  of  that  secfion,  he  gave  us  the  names  of  all  the 
school-houses  in  that  and  the  adjoining  townships,  also  the  names  of 
some  of  the  most  prominent  people  in  each  neighborhood.  He  drew 
us  a  rough  map  of  the  county  and  neighborhood  roads,  with  the 
school-houses  in  their  respective  places. 

Immediately  after  dinner  we  started  for  the  Sheffield  school-house, 
and  found  it  three  and  a  half  miles  from  New  Bern.  It  is  an 
average  country  school-house,  twenty  by  twenty-five  feet.  It  is  ceiled 
overhead  and  has  six  windows,  also  a  rostrum  about  one-third  the 
size  of  the  room.  Immediately  behind  the  stove,  which  stood  in  the 
center  of  the  room,  stood  a  post,  from  which  the  bark  had  not  been 
peeled,  supporting  one  of  the  rafters.  The  furniture  consisted  of 
rough  benches,  all  of  the  same  height,  with  no  backs  except  a  narrow 
strip  five  inches  wide  at  the  top,  the  stove  and  a  four-by-three-foot 
blackboard  that  had  once  been  black,  but  was  now  sleek  and  shiny. 
This  house  was  in  the  woods,  near  the  road.  The  road  was  the  only 
play-ground. 

From  the  school-house  we  went  to  eight  of  the  homes  in  the  neigh- 
borhood. I  went  in  and  talked  to  the  ladies,  told  them  that  I  wanted 
to  get  every  woman  in  the  neighborhood  interested  in  the  Sheffield 
school,  and  that  I  wanted  to  get  them  together  and  talk  with  them 
about  it,  and  asked  if  they  would  not  meet  me  at  the  school-house 
Saturday  a  week.  I  told  them  that  I  had  pictures  to  show  them  and 
that  I  needed  their  help.  The  first  one  suggested  2  :30  o'clock  as  the 
hour  for  the  meeting,  and  each  of  the  others  agreed  to  it  and  prom- 
ised to  get  word  of  the  meeting  to  as  many  others  as  possible.  I  told 
them  that  the  women  must  come  and  that  the  men  and  the  larger 
girls  and  boys  might  come  if  they  desired.  After  stopping  every  one 
I  met  on  the  road  and  talking  to  them,  we  reached  home  at  dusk, 
having  finished  my  first  day's  work. 

AT    MAYSVILLE. 

On  July  1st  I  went  by  rail  to  a  school  commencement  at  Maysville, 
Jones  county.  There  was  an  address  in  the  morning,  but  no  chance 
for  me  to  talk  to  the  people  or  even  meet  them.  It  was  very  warm, 
and  all  hurried  home,  as  most  of  them  lived  seA_eral  miles  in  the 
country.  In  the  afternoon  I  went  up  to  the  church,  where  they  were 
preparing  for  the  entertainment  to  come  off  that  night,  and  there  I 
met  a  number  of  the  students — girls  and  boys  about  grown. 

At  night  the  people  came  from  all  the  surrounding  districts  and 
from  several  of  the  adjoining  counties.  The  little  church  was  full, 
even  to  the  aisles,  and  people  were  standing  around  the  windows  on 
the  outside.     About  three  hundred  people  were  there. 


35 


The  children  did  well,  but  the  entertainment  lasted  until  12  o'clock. 
At  the  close  I  told  those  tired  people  about  our  association,  said  a  few 
words  about  the  necessity  of  the  work,  and  asked  the  ladies  to  meet 
me  at  the  school-house  the  next  morning  at  10  o'clock.  Five  ladies, 
three  school  committeemen  and  half  a  dozen  young  men,  students  of 
the  school,  met  me.  The  school-room  was  located  in  a  dwelling-house. 
It  is  sixteen  by  twenty-four  feet,  is  newly  ceiled  and  has  seven  win- 
dows. The  stove  was  a  borrowed  one,  the  desks  rough,  home-made 
and  all  the  same  size,  and  the  one  sleek  blackboard  was  only  one  yard 
square.  Those  present  seemed  interested  and  promised  to  work  for 
the  school.  The  committeemen  said  that  they  would  see  that  better 
seats  and  a  good  long  blackboard  were  in  place  before  the  fall. 

There  was  no  play-ground,  and  so  I  went  with  a  committee  of  the 
students  to  see  the  agent  of  the  Maysville  Land  Company,  and  a 
large  adjoining  lot  owned  by  the  company  was  loaned  for  the  pur- 
pose. The  young  men  said  that  they  would  put  it  in  good  shape  and 
plant  some  trees. 

After  the  meeting  I  went  to  the  homes  of  those  who  had  not  come 
out.  Maysville  is  a  small  village.  The  people  are  good  and  of  average 
intelligence,  and  there  were  forty  children  of  school  age,  but  I  was 
told  that  it  was  the  first  time  they  had  had  a  good  school  to  run  three 
months  in  the  history  of  the  village,  which  is  not  very  ancient.  They 
had  engaged  the  same  teacher  to  return  for  the  fall  term. 

The  two  great  mountains  in  my  way  were  utter  indifference  and 
lack  of  unity.  The  little  petty  jealousies,  one  wanting  the  school- 
house  in  one  place  and  another  in  another ;  one  wanting  a  certain 
teacher  and  some  one  else  wanting  his  daughter,  or  his  cousin,  or  his 
aunt,  made  unity  of  effort  almost  impossible. 

The  struggle  usually  ended  by  all  who  were  not  pleased  keeping 
their  children  at  home.  Such  were  conditions  that  I  found  in  most 
communities.  So  I  usually  had  to  convince  the  people  of  the  positive 
necessity  of  education,  and  the  responsibility,  not  only  of  the  parents, 
but  of  all  citizens,  before  I  reached  the  point  where  the  house  came 
in.  But  I  visited  only  two  places  where  I  did  not  leave  an  Associa- 
tion for  the  Betterment  of  the  School  House  and  promises  to  stir  up 
interest  in  the  school  and  the  teacher. 

AT    HAVELOCK. 

July  3d  I  went  to  Havelock,  twelve  miles  from  New  Bern,  on  the 
A.  &  N.  C.  railroad.  I  reached  there  at  half-past  ten  in  the  morning. 
Marie  Buys,  a  uormal  graduate,'  met  me,  and  together  we  went  from 
house  to  house,  visiting  every  home  in  the  district  except  one,  which 
was  three  miles  away. 

The  school-house  was  about  like  that  at  Sheffield,  unfurnished, 
save  with  rude  benches.  It  was  situated  in  a  pretty  bit  of  woods, 
back  some  distance  from  the  road,  and  if  the  underbrush  had  been 
cut  away   and   walks   made,   would   have  furnished   very   attractive 


36 

grounds.  We  planned  the  walks  while  I  was  there.  On  my  first  visit 
we  interested  a  young  girl  who  went  with  us  to  that  school-house  and 
to  the  homes  in  the  district.  There  were  only  about  eighteen  children 
in  the  district.  One  of  the  committeemen  of  the  school  said  there 
was  no  use  talking  education  or  beautifying  school-houses  to  those 
people ;  that  they  were  blockheads  and  that  the  committeemen  should 
fix  things  to  suit  themselves. 

Miss  Buys'  father  invited  the  Havelock  Sunday-school  to  have  its 
picnic  in  his  yard.  He  had  also  invited  people  from  other  villages 
and  neighborhoods,  so  that  I  had  a  chance  to  talk  to  forty  or  fifty 
people  from  Croatan,  Havelock,  Harlowe,  North  Harlowe,  Adams' 
Creek  and  Hancock's  Creek.  After  dinner  was  over  the  yard  was 
strewn  with  paper,  box-tops,  etc.  I  gave  an  object  lesson  by  suggest- 
ing that  we  should  not  leave  our  friend's  yard  in  such  a  condition, 
and  the  litter  was  soon  collected  and  burned. 

One  gentleman  from  Croatan  went  home  from  this  meeting  and 
stirred  up  the  neighborhood  by  cleaning  up  the  school-yard,  the 
church-yard  and  the  grave-yard.  Miss  Mamie  Hill  of  Havelock,  the 
young  woman  who  went  around  with  us  there,  got  the  people  together 
and  cleaned  up  the  Havelock  school-grounds,  scoured  the  floors  and 
washed  the  windows  of  the  school-house,  and  planned  for  a  basket 
party  to  raise  money  to  whitewash  the  house.  The  whitewashing 
was  postponed  on  account  of  the  breaking  out  of  smallpox  in  the 
village.  A  second  attempt  was  made,  but  another  case  of  smallpox 
prevented  it,  and  I  have  heard  nothing  from  there  since. 

SHEFFIELD    SCHOOL-HOUSE. 

Saturday  morning,  July  5th,  I  left  Havelock.  It  was  the  day 
appointed  for  the  meeting  at  the  Sheffield  school-house.  It  was  so 
warm  that  I  was  ashamed  to  ask  any  one  to  drive  me  over  to  the 
school-house  in  the  middle  of  the  day,  but  I  had  made  the  appoint- 
ment, and  I  felt  that  I  must  go,  so  I  asked  my  brother  to  let  me  have 
his  office  boy,  a  colored  boy  who  had  been  a  servant  in  our  family 
since  he  was  a  child.  We  started  at  half-past  one.  The  road  all  the 
way  was  about  four  inches  deep  in  sand.  I  really  did  not  suffer 
myself,  as  I  was  so  busy  thinking  of  the  horse  and  wondering  whether 
anybody  would  be  out  to  meet  me.  But  when  I  finally  reached  the 
school-house  the  sight  of  men,  women  and  children  fully  repaid  me 
for  having  come  in  a  walk  every  step  of  the  way.  There  were  twenty 
people  there,  with  some  children,  and  some  of  the  children  brought 
messages  from  their  mothers  which  showed  interest.  They  brought 
benches  out,  and  we  talked  and  argued  very  informally  about  the 
school,  its  conditions,  its  troubles  and  the  causes  of  them  all.  In  this 
district  there  were  sixty  children  of  school  age  and  only  twenty  were 
enrolled  last  term.  Some  were  in  favor  of  compulsory  education,  and 
some  thought  that  the  fault  lay  in  the  teacher. 


37 


We  discussed  the  best  plan  to  adopt  to  get  compulsory  education, 
and  finally  decided  that  we  would  first  have  to  get  most  of  the  people 
to  want  it ;  we  discussed  the  best  way  to  get  better  teachers  and  to  get 
the  best  work  out  of  a  teacher,  whether  she  be  good  or  poor,  and 
decided  that  the  people  must  stand  by  the  teacher  and  help  her  and 
encourage  her ;  we  discussed  the  best  way  to  enable  the  children  to 
get  the  greatest  benefit  from  the  school,  and  decided  that  we  must 
have  them  attend  regularly  and  that  we  must  make  them  comfortable 
at  school. 

Then  we  looked  at  the  house  and  the  grounds,  to  see  what  we  could 
do  just  with  our  hands.  The  men,  or  several  of  them,  said  that  they 
would  ceil  the  sides  of  the  house  if  they  could  get  the  lumber,  and 
that  they  would  saw  off  some  of  tbe  seats  for  the  little  ones,  so  that 
their  feet  would  not  swing  all  day.  Other  men  and  the  large  boys' 
said  that  they  would  cut  out  the  underbrush  and  fix  a  walk  so  that 
the  grounds  would  be  better ;  and  the  women  said  that  they  would 
see  that  the  floor  and  windows  were  cleaned  and  that  they  would  put 
a  basin  and  towel  in  place ;  they  said  they  would  make  a  little  flower- 
bed just  the  width  of  the  steps  on  each  side,  get  woodbine  and  blue- 
bell vine  from  the  woods  and  plant  at  the  corners  of  the  house.  They 
said  they  would  plant  ferns  where  the  droppings  of  the  eaves  would 
keep  them  damp.  One  man  said  he  would  give  a  dollar  for  any 
needed  expense.     It  came  unsolicited,  and  I  added  one  to  it. 

We  then  organized  an  association  ;  we  called  it  the  Woman's  Associ- 
ation, but  the  men  all  joined.  They  had  no  idea  how  to  conduct  a 
meeting,  but  I  acted  as  secretary  and  chairman  too,  until  the  presi- 
dent was  elected.  Then  I  read  the  minutes  of  the  meeting  and  the 
enrollment  of  the  members  and  left  them  with  their  minute  book 
started.  I  usually  take  with  me  a  blank-book  for  that  purpose.  Since 
that  meeting  the  house  has  been  ceiled  and  the  outside  whitewashed, 
and  the  seats  have  been  made  more  comfortable. 

ORIENTAL    SCHOOL-HOUSE. 

Wednesday  night,  the  15th  of  July,  I  went  by  boat  to  Oriental,  in 
Pamlico  county.  Thursday  morning  I  started  out  and  went  from 
house  to  house.  That  night  about  fifty  ladies  and  a  few  men  came 
out  to  the  Methodist  church  for  a  meeting.  We  formed  a  good  strong 
association.  Oriental  is  a  thriving  little  village,  with  about  ninety 
children  of  school  age.  The  homes  are  attractive,  and  there  are  four 
very  pretty  little  churches.  About  five  years  ago  a  stock  company 
was  formed  to  build  an  academy.  The  shareholders  soon  lost  interest 
and  wanted  their  money  back,  so  it  was  sold  to  one  man.  He  con- 
tinued the  work  on  it  for  awhile,  and  then  stopped,  and  it  has  been 
at  a  standstill  for  three  years. 

For  the  past  two  years  the  school  has  been  taught  by  two  teachers 
in  uncomfortable  rooms  over  a  store.  When  the  public  school  is 
over,  most  of  the  people  pay  tuition  and  thus  retain  the  teachers  for 


38 


four  months  longer.  I  tried  to  impress  them,  not  only  with  the  neces- 
sity of  their  having  a  good  school  in  Oriental,  but  with  their  responsi- 
bility to  the  children  of  the  surrounding  country.* 

SMALLPOX   INTERFERES. 

On  the  Saturday  before  going  to  Oriental.  Mr.  Brinson,  the  county 
superintendent,  had  asked  me  to  meet  the  county  board  and  the  com- 
mitteemen of  No.  2  township,  who  were  to  hold  a  meeting  in  his  office 
on  that  day.  I  told  them  of  the  work  I  had  undertaken,  a  little  more 
fully  than  I  had  been  able  to  write  them,  and  found  them  ready  to 
assist  me  in  every  way  possible.  They  said  that  they  would  inform 
me  of  any  gatherings  to  be  held,  and  would  try  to  interest  the  people. 
They  said  that  the  work  was  sadly  needed,  and  told  me  of  some 
districts  in  which  the  conditions  were  even  worse  than  those  I  have 
mentioned.  In  one  district  the  goats  had  had  possession  of  the 
school-house  all  the  summer.  In  one,  the  people  were  so  divided  as 
to  where  to  locate  the  school-house  that  they  would  not  have  any. 
They  insisted  upon  my  going  to  those  two  districts  and  said  they 
would  meet  me  at  the  station  and  take  me  where  I  could  be  enter- 
tained comfortably.  Mr.  Brinson  said  that  he  would  go  with  me. 
They  insisted  that  we  go  in  time  to  be  in  the  neighborhood  the 
Sunday  before,  when  they  had  preaching.  We  agreed,  and  appoint- 
ments were  made  for  meetings  at  three  places.  The  meetings  were 
advertised  thoroughly  and  I  suppose  we  should  have  met  most  of 
the  people,  but  the  smallpox  broke  out  in  the  neighborhood  and  pre- 
vented our  going.  Those  people  are  aroused,  however,  and  Mr.  Brin- 
son will  go  down  this  fall,  and  I  hope  for  some  good  to  come,  even 
from  the  attempt. 

BEECH    GROVE   AXD   LIMA. 

At  the  same  meeting  of  the  board,  Mr.  Lane,  another  member  and 
a  very  efficient  one.  insisted  that  I  should  try  to  meet  the  people  of 
Beech  Grove  and  Lima.  He  knew  of  no  gathering  but  a  quarterly 
meeting  on  the  ISth  and  19th,  and  he  feared  we  would  not  get  the 
people  together  even  though  he  saw  the  people  and  sent  messages, 
which  he  was  willing  to  do.  The  quarterly  meeting  meant  preaching 
on  Saturday  morning,  Saturday  night,  and  Sunday.  The  school-house 
is  just  beside  the  church,  so  I  asked  Mr.  Lane  to  announce  at  the 
close  of  morning  seiwice  that  I  would  like  to  talk  to  the  ladies  at  the 
school-house  a  short  time  that  night.  He  asked  them  to  come  a  half 
hour  before  church  time.  Mr.  Lane  lived  near  the  church,  and  as  it 
was  six  miles  from  my  home  I  was  to  go  to  his  house  for  an  early 
supper  and  return  home  after  services. 

Saturday  supper  found  both  my  brother  and  myself  at  Mr.  Lane's. 
Dr.  Swindell,  the  presiding  elder,  was  there,  and  I  found  that,  fearing 


"Oriental  has  since  voted  a  local  tax  and  now  has  a  good  public  school  house  which  cost 
.500.-R.  D.  W.  C. 


Alliance,  Pamlico  County  (Old). 


Alliance,  Pamlico  County  (New). 


39 


the  people  would  not  come  in  time  and  I  would  not  get  a  good  meet- 
ing, those  two  had  decided  to  let  me  talk  to  the  whole  congregation 
in  the  church  at  the  beginning  of  the  services.  This  embarrassed  me, 
but  the  minister  assured  me  that  it  was  his  suggestion ;  that  my  work 
was  important,  that  he  wanted  as  many  people  as  possible  to  hear 
about  it,  that  he  wanted  to  hear  about  it  himself,  and  that  he  would 
"divide  time"  with  me. 

It  was  somewhat  of  an  ordeal  for  me,  for  I  had  not  made  any  set 
speech  before ;  I  had  just  talked  to  the  people,  oftenest  sitting  down 
among  them,  sometimes  standing  in  their  midst  and  letting  them  talk 
back.  And  this  was  a  different  audience  and  Dr.  Swindell  thrown 
in.  But  I  began  and  told  them  about  our  Woman's  Association,  and 
I  kept  on.  I  told  them  of  the  Southern  Education  Board,  of  the 
increased  interest  in  education  all  over  the  country,  and  of  the  stand 
our  state  was  taking  for  it.  I  spoke  of  the  condition  of  the  school- 
house  and  grounds  and  of  the  effect  they  had  upon  the  children  in 
their  work.  I  kept  on  until  I  had  shown  my  pictures,  organized  an 
association,  written  and  read  the  minutes  of  the  meeting,  which  took 
nearly  all  of  the  preacher's  time.  But  he  then  talked  to  them  awhile 
on  the  same  subject,  emphasizing  and  bringing  out  beautifully  the 
points  I  had  tried  to  make. 

The  school-house  is  situated  in  a  beautiful  grove.  It  is  nicely 
ceiled,  and  the  seats,  though  home-made  and  all  the  same  size,  looked 
more  comfortable  than  any  I  had  yet  seen.  There  is  a  chart  and  a 
very  small  blackboard.  A  pay  school  is  carried  on  after  the  public 
school  closes. 

Monday  morning,  the  20th,  I  went  to  Lima,  took  dinner  at  the  home 
of  one  of  the  committeemen,  an  intelligent,  well-to-do  farmer,  who  has 
had  fair  advantages  and  who  intends  to  give  the  same  to  his  children. 
Lima  is  a  small  district  and  has  only  eighteen  children.  The  school 
house  was  new  and  neat,  but  there  was  no  play-ground  and  the  house 
was  neither  painted  nor  ornamented  in  any  way.  It  was  the  property 
of  three  men — the  committeeman  spoken  of,  and  two  others.  They 
supplement  the  school  money  and  get  a  good  teacher,  one  who  can 
teach  music  being  required,  and  keep  the  school  open  for  nine  months, 
but  it  is  only  their  children  who  go  more  than  four  months.  I  formed 
no  association  there. 

ROANOKE   ISLAND. 

On  July  23d  I  went  to  Roanoke  Island  to  the  celebration  of  the 
North  Carolina  Historical  Society.  I  knew  that  at  that  time  I  would 
be  able  to  reach  more  people  on  the  island  than  at  any  other  time, 
and  I  felt  chat  others  hearing  of  the  work  might  become  interested 
and  do  some  work  in  other  parts  of  the  state.  I  went  so  as  to  be 
there  all  of  Wednesday  before  the  celebration  exercises,  which  came 
off  Thursday.  Wednesday  morning  I  met  the  Methodist  minister. 
The  celebration  was  held  at  Manteo,  the  chief  town  of  the  island. 
He  took  me  to  the  hall,  which  the  ladies  were  busy  decorating  and 


40 

preparing  for  the  next  day.  I  met  a  number  of  them  and  found  that 
they  were  quite  ready  to  talk  school  in  the  midst  of  their  work.  The 
people  of  the  island  are  very  intelligent,  and  I  found  most  of  the 
women  intensely  interested  in  the  school  question.  They  keep  a  good 
school  by  subscription,  employing  three  teachers.  There  are  120 
children  in  the  town,  but  only  90  are  able  to  go  during  the  pay  term. 
They  have  a  large  school-room,  but  the  most  miserable  desks,  the 
dirtiest  walls,  and  a  big  blank  block  gone  to  weeds  and  not  a  shade 
tree  in  sight  for  a  play-ground.  The  house  belongs  to  the  Odd  Fel- 
lows. The  women  want  the  town  to  build  a  good  house,  but  they  say 
that  the  men  are  the  trouble. 

We  tried  to  get  a  time  when  I  could  meet  the  women ;  everybody 
was  busy  and  something  appointed  for  every  hour  of  the  time,  begin- 
ning with  church  that  night.  A  minister  from  Elizabeth  was  to 
preach,  and  they  said  that  everybody  would  be  there,  so  we  decided 
to  ask  the  ladies  to  remain  a  short  time  after  church.  When  the  min- 
ister made  the  announcement  he  said  that  "the  ladies  must  stay,  and 
the  men  may  stay  if  they  like."  Not  a  soul  left,  so  I  made  my  second 
speech  to  a  church  full  of  people.  My  aim  was  to  make  everybody  see 
that  everybody  must  work  together,  and  must  work  and  think  and 
talk  for  the  school,  and  must  make  the  school  not  only  inhabitable, 
but  attractive.  I  tried  to  meet  as  tactfully  as  I  could  the  conditions 
as  I  had  learned  them  that  day.  The  women  were  pleased ;  they 
told  me  that  I  had  "hit  the  men  right  and  left,"  and  a  number  of  men 
came  up  and  spoke  very  kindly,  endorsing  all  that  I  had  said.  We 
formed  an  association.  The  next  morning,  just  after  breakfast,  two 
of  the  ladies  came  to  the  hotel  and  said  that  the  ladies  wanted  me 
to  come  up  to  the  hall  and  talk  to  them  before  the  speaking  began. 
I  went  with  them  and  found  a  large  crowd  gathered,  for  speaking 
was  to  begin  at  ten  and  people  were  coming  early  to  secure  seats. 
The  thing  that  struck  me  most  about  these  ladies  was  their  mission- 
ary spirit.  They  wanted  the  women  of  Sky  Co  and  Wanchese  and 
North  End  to  become  interested  and  to  work  for  their  schools. 

They  watched  the  people  come  in  and  get  seated,  and  wherever 
they  could  find  four  or  five,  or  five  or  six  ladies  together  and  it  was 
possible  to  get  a  seat  among  them  for  me,  they  would  come  and  say : 
"Now,  we  want  you  to  talk  to  these  ladies  over  here,"  and  they 
would  have  the  subject  introduced  before  I  got  there.  So  by  quietly 
moving  my  seat  here  and  there  I  talked  to  a  number  of  people  while 
the  crowd  was  gathering,  and  arrangements  were  made  for  meetings 
next  day  at  Wanchese  and  Sky  Co,  the  other  two  settlements  on  the 
island. 

WANCHESE    AND    SKY    CO.* 

Wanchese  is  a  settlement  spread  over  the  south  end  of  the  island. 
You  could  hardly  call  it  a  town.     The  homes  are  away  off  in  the 


*Wanehese  and  Sky  Co  now  are  both  local  tax  districts  and  have  good  houses.— R.  D. 
W.  C. 


41 


woods,  but  I  suppose  that  uone  of  the  homes  are  more  thau  half  a 
mile  apart.  They  have  a  good  school  there  taught  by  a  mau  aud  his 
wife.  The  house  consists  of  two  large  rooms,  upper  aud  lower,  aud 
two  one-story  rooms,  built  as  wings  on  each  side  of  the  main  buildiug 
and  opening  into  the  large  hall  on  the  lower  floors.  This  hall  has  a 
stage  across  the  rear  end  and  the  two  wings  are  also  used  for  the 
school.  The  upper  hall  is  the  Masonic  meeting-place.  These  walls 
were  all  prettily  ceiled  and  painted ;  mottoes  were  on  the  walls,  and 
the  rooms  had  manufactured  desks,  the  only  ones  I  saw  during  the 
summer.  We  organized  a  good  association.  I  could  not  get  a  meeting 
at  North  End.  The  school-house  seemed  to  be  new,  but  is  very  small. 
There  is  uo  school-house  at  Sky  Co  and  only  fifteen  children.  It  is 
a  very  small  new  settlement,  but  eveu  there  the  people  are  divided. 
I  could  not  get  them  to  organize,  but  they  promised  to  build  a  house 
and  to  organize  later  on.  There  are  very  few  negroes  on  the  island, 
but  the  few  I  saw  are  well  behaved  and  well  thought  of. 

JACKSONVILLE.* 

July  28  we  went  to  Jacksonville,  Onslow  county.  Jacksonville  is 
the  county-seat  and  could  support  a  good  school.  They  have  a  large 
house,  25x40  feet,  and  a  large  lot,  but  both  were  sadly  out  of  repair; 
miserable  furniture,  no  blackboard  worthy  the  name.  The  house  had 
been  open  all  the  summer ;  not  a  tree  on  the  grounds.  There  had  been 
no  school  in  the  place  half  the  time.  It  was  the  story  of  disagree- 
ment. A  number  sent  their  children  away  to  neighborhoods  where 
there  are  well-established  schools.  I  had  written  the  county  superin- 
tendent of  my  coming,  and  asked  him  to  appoint  a  meeting  of  the 
ladies.  He  came  to  see  me  as  soon  as  I  arrived  and  told  me  that  he 
had  planned  a  meeting  in  the  church  that  uight.  In  the  afternoon  I 
drove  out  to  Cedar  Lane,  four  miles  off,  but  did  not  get  any  of  the 
people  together  on  account  of  a  beavy  thunder-storm.  That  night  a 
good  crowd  met  me  at  the  church.  We  organized  an  association  of 
twenty-five  members.  The  ladies  seemed  interested  and  began  at 
once  to  plan  improvements  on  the  school-house  and  grounds.  A  month 
later  a  gentleman  told  me  he  was  in  the  village  and  attended  an 
enthusiastic  meeting  of  the  association. 

SUGAR    MAPLE. 

On  July  29  I  went  out  in  the  country  six  miles  from  Jacksonville 
and  visited  the  Sugar  Maple  school,  which  was  then  in  progress.  Mr. 
Cooper,  the  county  superintendent,  met  me  there.  The  house,  which 
is  weatherboarded  and  shingled,  is  set  down  in  the  woods  by  the  side 
of  the  road.  An  acre  of  ground  belongs  to  it,  but  no  use  was  made  of 
it,  as  the  underbrush  was  thick.  Inside  the  house  was  not  only  unat- 
tractive, but  dismal-looking.     The  walls  were  as  black  and  weather- 


*Jacksonville  is  now  a  local  tax  district  and  has  recently  expended  $1,000  in  repairs  on 
the  school-house. — R.  D.  W.  C. 


42 

beaten  as  the  outside  and  the  rafters  festooned  with  cobwebs.  There 
were  twenty-six  children  at  school  the  day  I  was  there,  and  a  sleepy- 
looking  young  man  in  his  shirt  sleeves  was  teaching,  or  rather  he  was 
hearing  a  lesson.  The  seats  were  of  the  rudest  kind,  and  some  of  the 
little  ones  could  hardly  get  their  chins  above  the  desks.  Only  five  or 
six  were  about  grown,  and  three  of  the  young  men  were  very 
intelligent.  I  talked  with  them  awhile  in  an  easy  way  and  tried  to 
draw  them  out,  but  when  1  asked  if  they  had  ever  seen  or  heard  of  a 
special  thing  or  person  most  of  them  would  look  at  me  blankly,  while 
one  bright-faced  little  fellow  would  call  out,  "I  hain't!"  I  held  up 
the  portraits  of  Washington  and  Lee,  and  only  three  knew  them 
or  knew  anything  about  tnem  when  told  who  they  were.  I  talked 
with  them  a  good  while,  formed  an  association  among  the  pupils,  and 
left  a  picture  with  them. 

BRIER    NECK. 

That  afternoon  I  went  to  the  Brier  Neck  school-house,  nine  miles 
in  another  direction,  spent  the  night  at  the  home  of  one  of  the  com- 
mitteemen. The  school-house  is  comparatively  new-looking,  but  they 
are  going  to  build  a  larger  and  a  better  one  on  the  public  road.  But 
it  will  not  be  in  the  center  of  the  district.  I  gave  some  suggestions 
as  to  the  building  of  the  new  one.  That  committeeman  is  very  much 
interested  in  the  school.  I  did  not  meet  the  people  that  afternoon.  I 
was  on  my  way  to  the  Alum  Spring  picnic,  where  I  knew  I  would 
meet  people  from  all  over  the  county  and  several  of  the  adjoining 
counties.  I  went  to  the  picnic  next  day  and,  as  I  expected,  found 
quite  a  crowd.  It  is  a  good  section  of  the  country.  The  people  are 
intelligent,  but  most  of  those  who  are  interested  in  their  children 
send  them  away  to  some  small  school  instead  of  building  up  one  in 
their  midst.  I  spent  the  morning  going  around  meeting  and  talking 
to  the  people.  After  dinner  I  asked  some  of  the  ladies  to  go  up  into 
the  pavilion  with  me.  A  good  crowd  started.  People  will  follow  a 
crowd,  so  the  pavilion  was  soon  filled  with  women.  I  stood  in  the 
midst  of  them  and  began  telling  them  what  the  women  of  the  state 
had  undertaken  to  do.  Then  the  men  began  to  gather  around  the 
outside,  a  few  at  a  time,  and  more  came,  and  more,  till  I  think  about 
every  one  on  the  grounds  was  listening  to  me,  and  I  had  to  talk  as 
loud  as  I  could.  At  first  I  had  the  ice  shaver  and  the  pink  lemonade 
shaker  to  talk  against,  but  some  one  soon  silenced  those,  and  every- 
thing was  as  quiet  as  if  we  had  all  been  in  a  house.  I  talked  a  long 
time,  and  after  I  had  finished  I  formed  associa  tions  for  Catherine 
Lake,  Brier  Neck,  Lake  View,  Gum  Branch.  Richlands,  and  won  the 
promise  of  individuals  to  organize  and  work  up  associations  at 
Hubert,  Sparkman  and  Half  Moon. 


KIT   SWAMP. 

The  cominitteenien  bad  sent  word  around  that  Mr.  Brinson  and  I 
would  be  at  Kit  Swamp  school-house  at  half-past  ten  on  the 
morning  of  the  first  day  of  August,  and  at  Forrest  in  the  afternoon 
of  August  the  13th.  At  the  former  place,  which  is  in  Craven  county, 
eleven  miles  from  New  Bern,  we  found  only  six  people.  It  was  in 
tobacco  time,  and  the  women  help  prepare  it  for  market. 

We  talked  to  them  very  informally  for  more  than  an  hour  and  found 
out  the  condition  of  the  community  and  the  troubles.  And  those 
present  seemed  very  much  interested.  Two  of  the  number  were  a 
committeeman  and  his  wife,  and  one  an  earnest  young  man  who 
expected  to  teach  at  Truitt's  next  term.  Those  there  decided  to 
organize,  and  we  did  so,  and  I  left  them  with  a  book  and  the  minutes 
of  the  first  meeting.  I  had  filled  the  seat  and  foot  of  my  buggy  with 
old  magazines :  Munsey,  Cosmopolitan,  McChire's,  Youth's  Companion, 
St.  Nicholas,  Ladies'  Home  Journal  and  some  teachers'  journals.  I 
left  some  of  these  in  the  hands  of  the  president  and  told  her  to  have 
a  little  shelf  built  for  them  and  let  the  teacher  use  them  as  a  little 
library,  giving  them  out  Friday  afternoons  to  be  taken  home.  Even 
if  the  children  could  not  read  them  and  understand  them  they  would 
enjoy  the  pictures,  and  some  of  the  parents  might  enjoy  them,  and 
the  teachers'  journals  would  be  helpful  to  the  teacher.  I  gave  a 
number  to  the  young  teacher,  who  said  he  was  going  to  organize  an 
association  at  Truitt's. 

ZORAH. 

One  of  the  committeemen  wrote  me  that  there  was  to  be  a  big  picnic 
and  baseball  game  at  Zorah  on  the  sixteenth.  The  ball  game  was  to 
be  between  the  Zorah  neighborhood  and  Reelsboro,  Pamlico  county. 
There  were  about  three  hundred  people  present  from  the  surrounding 
country,  counting  men,  women  and  children.  And,  as  usual  about 
election  times  and  before,  we  met  several  of  the  candidates  for  nomi- 
nation for  the  various  county  offices.  The  school-house  does  not  look 
any  better  than  the  one  at  Kit  Swamp,  but  the  people  seemed  intelli- 
gent and  well-to-do.  They  had  built  a  kind  of  arbor,  or  pavilion, 
covered  with  branches,  for  dancing,  and  around  this  the  people  gath- 
ered while  Mr.  Brinson  talked  to  them  of  the  importance  and  necessity 
of  education  for  every  one,  and  1  told  them  of  the  helpfulness  of  a 
comfortable  and  attractive  school-house  and  pictures,  and  how  they 
might  improve  and  beautify  the  school-house  by  a  little  effort.  We 
then  organized  associations  for  Zorah,  Reelsboro  and  Olympia. 

RESULTS    AND    SUGGESTIONS. 

I  cannot  give  much  in  the  way  of  direct  results  of  my  work.  Mr. 
Brinson,  the  county  superintendent  of  Craven,  is  very  much  interested. 
He  is  a  man  of  ability  and  judgment  and  will  work  for  the  interest 
of  the  schools  and  will  not  be  biased  or  led  by  any  political  or  other 


44 

influence  in  his  official  acts.  He  and  Mr.  Nunn,  one  of  the  leading 
young  lawyers,  and  Professor  Harding,  superintendent  of  the  New 
Bern  schools,  have  agreed  to  respond  to  invitations  from  the  neigh- 
boring schools  to  address  them  on  stated  occasions. 

I  have  sent  framed  pictures  to  four  schools.  Three  houses  have 
been  ceiled  inside  and  whitewashed  outside.  One  of  the  committeemen 
told  me  that  after  church  in  his  township  the  men,  instead  of  talking 
politics,  as  usual,  were  now  talking  schools.  A  man  told  my  father 
that  his  son,  who  had  been  hard  to  get  to  school,  had  made  up  his 
mind  to  go  every  day,  and  had  already  boxed  some  flowers  for  the 
school-house.  A  few  stray  facts  like  these  are  all  the  direct  results 
that  I  know,  but  I  believe  the  people  of  the  country  can  be  reached 
and  can  be  aroused.  They  need  encouragement.  They  need  teaching. 
The  work  needs  to  be  followed  up.  They  need  teachers  most  of  all ; 
good,  strong  teachers.  The  salaries  paid  the  teachers  are  too  small. 
The  people  are  opposed  to  taxes.  The  majority  of  them  have  little 
to  tax  or  to  pay  taxes  with.  If  some  good,  strong  teacher  could  go 
into  the  country  districts  while  the  schools  are  in  progress,  spend  a 
day  or  two  in  each  school,  go  back  and  forth  with  the  teacher,  talk 
with  and  encourage  her  and  direct  her,  and  then  meet  the  parents  and 
get  down  to  them  as  a  friend,  wonders  could  be  worked.  It  would  be 
as  trying,  in  many  instances,  as  work  in  foreign  fields,  but  it  could  be 
done.  Or,  if  every  county  could  have  an  enthusiastic  working  school 
man  for  superintendent  and  let  him  have  tbat  for  his  only  business, 
the  rural    school  problem  could  soon  be  solved. 

But  as  we  can  get  neither  of  these  in  many  counties,  my  idea  has 
been  to  try  to  form  strong  associations  in  the  towns  that  will  divide 
up  and  take  especial  interest  in  the  schools  nearest  to  the  towns.  For 
instance,  if  there  are  six  country  schools  within  a  radius  of  eight 
miles  around  Greensboro  and  we  could  get  thirty  women  in  our 
association,  let  it  divide  into  groups  of  six,  and  each  group  become 
interested  in  a  particular  school,  visit  it,  etc. 


Library  op  Bobbitt's  School,  Vance  County. 


Bobbitt  School,  Vance  County. 


HOW  A  WAYNE  COUNTY  SCHOOL  WAS  IMPROVED. 


By  John  S.  Teagtje. 


When  I  first  came  to  Watery  Branch,  Wayne  county,  two  years  ago, 
I  found  a  house  with  not  room  enough  for  the  children,  situated  in 
the  woods  with  a  path  in  front  leading  to  the  door.  The  building  was 
surrounded  by  shrubbery  of  every  description,  from  the  tall  oak  to  the 
tiniest  fern,  intermingled  with  dead  brush  and  decayed  leaves  that 
could  count  their  age  by  the  decades.  Dead  stumps  of  all  sizes 
peeped  up  here  and  there  with  their  snaggled  teeth  offering  defiance  to 
the  passer-by.  A  wash  in  front  on  the  side  of  the  road  was  slowly  but 
surely  eating  its  way  to  the  house.  Many  of  the  limbs  of  the  trees 
were  kissing  old  mother  earth.  All  of  the  trees  needed  an  introduc- 
tion to  the  pruner's  knife  and  not  a  few  were  anxiously  waiting  in 
old-maid  fashion  for  a  husband  by  the  name  of  Mr.  Ax  who  would 
lift  them  from  their  sad  state  and  dress  them  in  costumes  to  be  an 
ornament  to  the  people. 

If  an  artist  had  by  chance  gone  into  the  building  he  would  not  have 
found  anything  to  tickle  his  fancy  or  please  his  eye  save  the  children, 
and  perhaps  the  teacher.  Here  were  children  hungering  and  thirsting 
for  books  to  read,  but  sadly  waiting  to  be  filled.  Nothing  there  to 
woo  them  to  come  to  this  sacred  place  save  the  whistle  of  the  wind 
and  the  song  of  the  mocking-bird.  With  very  few  books  to  read,  no 
yard  to  play  in.  no  flowers  in  the  yard  or  the  house  to  send  forth 
their  fragrance  for  them,  no  pictures  on  the  walls  for  them  to  look 
at,  no  shades  on  the  windows,  not  comfortable  room  enough  in  the 
house — is  it  any  wonder  that  so  many  of  the  boys  and  girls  never 
came  to  school? 

To-day  by  the  co-operative  work  of  parents,  pupils  and  teacher,  we 
have  turned  these  dry  bones  into  a  living  personage.  Fifty  stumps 
have  been  taken  up,  thirty  trees  uprooted,  logs  cut  and  put  into  the 
wash  and  dirt  thrown  over  them  and  made  level.  There  are  flowers 
of  several  kinds  in  the  house  on  shelves  made  for  the  purpose,  and 
flowers  in  the  yard.  The  limbs  from  the  trees  have  ceased  to  kiss  the 
earth,  but  with  tbe  aid  of  the  pruner's  knife,  those  left  are  pointing 
heavenward,  inviting  all  to  let  their  lives  do  likewise. 

Twenty  pictures  are  in  the  house,  seven  of  them  nicely  framed. 
Shades  are  over  all  the  windows.  We  have  a  library  of  books  neatly 
cased.  Our  seating  capacity  has  been  enlarged  one-third  by  taking 
out  an  old  rostrum. 


*Mr.  Teague  won  a  scholarship  to  the  A.  &  M.  College  summer  school,  offered  by  the 
Wayne  County  Association  to  the  teacher  of  the  county  who  should  make  the  greatest 
improvement  in  his  (or  her)  school-house  and  grounds  during  the  year. 


46 

We  gave  two  nice  entertainments  and  collected  $42  with  which  to 
pay  for  our  library,  pictures,  shades,  etc.  We  still  have  on  hand 
$14.25  with  which  to  have  planted  two  rows  of  shrubbery  from  the 
front  of  the  house  to  the  road. 

It  is  with  pride  that  I  point  to  the  fact  that  the  children  were  the 
most  anxious  to  help  in  this  beautifying  work.  Instead  of  disliking 
the  old  place,  they  are  proud  of  their  school.  Their  books  are  kept 
neater,  the  faces  and  hands  cleaner,  and  their  hair  is  usually  combed. 
Somehow  the  boys  do  not  mind  building  fires,  sweeping  the  yard  or 
cleaning  off  their  feet  at  the  door.  The  girls  are  delighted  to  sweep 
the  floor  and  dust  ihe  desks.  No  spider  has  a  chance  of  life  on  these 
premise?,  and  last,  but  not  least,  our  worthy  county  superintendent 
enjoys  visiting  us. 


EAGLE  ROCK  SCHOOL,  WAKE  COUNTY. 


By  Miss  Annie  Abernathy. 


When  I  took  charge  of  the  Eagle  Rock  school  in  September  last 
I  found  a  house  in  the  middle  of  a  large  yard  grown  up  in  briars, 
weeds  and  broom-sedge.  Just  in  front  of  the  door  was  a  road  made 
by  drivers  taking  a  short  cut  from  one  public  road  to  another. 

The  interior  of  the  house  was  no  more  inviting,  containing  only 
desks  and  two  small  blackboards,  the  floors  and  walls  being  much  dis- 
colored. I  had  to  begin  with  small  things.  I  found  two  nice,  large 
calendars,  and  hung  one  in  each  room.  I  also  told  the  trustees  that 
three  more  blackboards  were  needed,  and  these  they  willingly  gave. 

Then  I  learned  that  one  of  the  trustees  had  a  large  map  of  the 
United  States.  I  went  after  this  map  and  got  it.  Indeed,  he  lent  it 
with  pleasure  when  I  told  how  much  it  was  needed.  Shortly  after 
this  the  county  superintendent  visited  the  school,  and  I  asked  for  a 
globe  to  be  paid  for  by  the  county.  He  replied  that  it  would  be  a 
pleasure  to  present  the  school  with  one,  which  he  did.  It  has  been  of 
great  service. 

But  the  yard  gave  me  the  horrors.  I  laid  the  case  before  the 
children  and  called  upon  them  for  help  toward  a  new  order  of  things. 

Then  I  appointed  December  13  as  work  day  on  the  yard,  and  sent 
requests  to  several  patrons  to  be  there  on  that  day,  and  in  the  notes 
specified  the  tools  each  should  bring. 

When  I  drove  up  with  my  wagon-load  of  tools  and  workmen  on  the 
13th  there  were  waiting  for  me  a  strong  force  of  hands  and  eight 
horses  and  mules.  They  plowed,  and  chopped  and  dug,  and  harrowed, 
and  laid  off  walks,  and  when  we  left  things  were  marvelously 
changed. 

The  following  Friday  was  appointed  arbor  day,  and  all  the  people 
of  the  community,  whether  patrons  or  not,  were  invited  to  bring  trees. 
Nature  recognized  her  friends,  and  gave  a  lovely  day,  and  the  people 
came.  The  children  rendered  some  appropriate  selections.  Miss 
Royster  followed  with  an  address,  and  then  we  went  out  and  planted 
the  trees.     Tbere  were  forty-seven  planted,  mostly  elms  and  maples. 

One  gentleman  sent  word  that  it  was  impossible  for  him  to  be 
there  then,  but  to  have  three  places  marked,  and  when  I  began  the 
new  year  his  trees  would  be  there.  They  were.  Re  named  one  for 
me,  one  for  my  assistant,  and  one  for  the  preacher.  The  preacher — 
ungrateful  one — has  died,  but  the  teachers,  as  was  to  be  expected,  are 
holding  their  own.     Out  of  the  fifty  trees  forty-six  lived. 

The  map  trustee  had  some  rye  and  he  volunteered  to  sow  it  on  the 
ground  and  so  prepare  the  soil  for  grass  next  fall. 

A  letter  to  our  congressman  telling  about  the  work  and  asking  for 
trees  brought  seven  choice  varieties  from  Washington,  which  have 
been  tended  with  great  care. 


48 

I  sent  a  little  sketch  of  our  arbor  day  to  the  Youth's  Companion, 
and  by  way  of  encouragement  this  paper  sent  the  school  a  set  of  his- 
torical pictures  and  a  handsome  United  States  flag.  What  a  happy 
time  that  was ! 

The  five  pictures  were  neatly  framed  and  glazed  through  the 
efforts  of  five  little  girls,  and  do  brighten  the  walls  so  much.  Each 
little  tot  was  allowed  to  choose  the  picture  she  wanted  to  frame,  and 
her  name  and  the  date  were  written  across  the  back.  This  gladdened 
their  little  hearts  and  was,  at  the  same  time,  an  object-lesson  showing 
that  efforts  bring  results. 

About  this  time  I  interested  the  large  girls  in  buying  a  carpet  to 
cover  an  unsightly  rostrum.  They  were  instructed  not  to  take  more 
than  five  cents  from  any  one,  but  that  one  might  be  visited  by  each  of 
them  in  turn.  The  money  came  right  in,  and  the  carpet  was  soon 
down. 

A  crying  need  here  was  a  well.  Water  for  the  school  (eighty- 
eight  children)  had  to  be  brought  a  long  distance.  So  I  borrowed  a 
buggy  and  mule  and  drove  round  the  country  soliciting  subscriptions 
to  dig  a  well.  Some  promised  cash  and  others  agreed  to  haul  stones 
for  the  wall.  One  man  said  that  he  would  make  up  any  deficit  there 
might  be  when  the  work  was  done. 

The  well  had  not  been  digged,  however,  because  a  digger  could 
not  then  be  found,  but  one  has  now  been  secured,  and  the  work  will 
commence. 

The  Ladies'  Association  organized  by  Miss  Royster  has  planted 
fourteen  flowering  shrubs,  violets,  lilies,  chrysanthemums,  honey- 
suckle, clematis,  Virginia  creeper,  and  thirty-four  rose-bushes,  and 
the  congressman  has  remembered  us  again  with  packages  of  seeds. 

When  the  rye  was  planted  I  had  left  a  large  square  made  by  the 
angle  of  two  rooms,  in  part.  Most  of  the  flowers  are  set  here.  My 
friendly  trustee  gave  cedar  posts  for  the  two  open  sides,  and  this 
square  is  wired  in.  I  sent  to  a  livery  stable  and  asked  for  wire  that 
comes  around  bales  of  hay.  This  isn't  very  strong,  but  answers  as  a 
protection  now,  and  next  year  perhaps  a  better  fence  may  be  forth- 
coming. 

Plans  for  a  library  are  now  on  foot,  and  eleven  volumes  have  been 
donated.  This  work  is  engaging  my  attention  now,  and  by  the  close 
of  another  year  my  school  hopes  to  make  a  good  library  report.  The 
hope  is  also  indulged  that  the  ceilings  may  be  painted  white  and  the 
walls  tinted  a  soft  color. 

Things  are  looking  pretty  now.  The  rye  is  green,  the  violets  have 
bloomed,  and  the  roses  are  budding.  The  trees  are  making  a  brave 
show,  and  on  Friday  I  tried  to  see  how  many  made  shade  enough  to 
cover  me. 

It  does  me  good  to  stand  in  the  door  and  contrast  the  present  with 
the  showing  we  made  in  December ;  and,  with  the  exception  of  the 
well,  it  has  cost  almost  nothing,  for  the  carpet  and  frames  came  by 
getting  a  nickel  here  and  there,  and  no  one  is  poorer. 


49 


MISS    ABERNATHY  S    SECOND    YEAR  S    WORK    AT    EAGLE    ROCK. 

Some  efforts  were  made  last  year  to  improve  the  Eagle  Rock 
Academy  and  grounds,  but  that  was  only  a  beginning  and  called  for 
more.  The  most  pressing  need  that  confronted  us  this  year  was  water, 
as  our  earlier  plans  in  this  direction  failed  to  mature.  So  we  sent  a 
petition  to  the  board  oi  education  and  the  board  agreed  to  pay  for 
the  well  if  our  patrons  would  haul  the  rocks  with  which  to  wall  it. 
This  was  an  easy  matter  and  that  well  has  been  a  blessing  since 
October. 

When  we  planted  our  trees  and  flowers  no  place  was  found  at  which 
to  stop  until  we  had  covered  the  entire  school  ground.  This  left  no 
play-ground  and  our  useful  boys  felt  that  they  had  been  displaced  to 
make  way  for  the  purely  ornamental.  As  a  consequence  the  flowers 
stood  to  them  in  the  character  of  interlopers — a  condition  to  be 
remedied  speedily.  I  called  upon  the  owner  of  the  adjoining  grounds 
and  asked  that  tbe  boys  be  allowed  the  use  of  a  certain  part  if  they 
would  clean  it  off.  He  consented  to  this  and  the  boys  chopped  down 
bushes,  dragged  off  brush,  and  burned  out  broom-sedge,  until  they  had 
a  beautiful  ground,  and  all  was  again  serene  and  calm. 

Early  in  the  fall  a 'trustee  promised  to  give  me  fertilizers  for  my 
roses  if  I  would  get  it  carried  to  the  school  ground  One  Saturday 
shortly  after  this,  several  little  boys  met  near  tbe  school-house  to 
play  ball.  This  was  as  it  should  be.  I  formed  them  into  a  bucket 
brigade,  armed  them  with  hoes  and  marched  them  to  the  academy, 
where  they  labored  cheerfully  until  every  bush  had  received  attention. 
Then  they  returned  to  their  game,  which  had  lost  none  of  its  zest 
because  they  had  stopped  long  enough  to  help  beautify  their  little 
world. 

About  this  time  a  traveling  nurseryman  stopped  a  night  with  us. 
He  heard  us  speak  of  the  improvements  made  and  others  contem- 
plated, whereupon  he,  too,  wanted  to  lend  a  hand ;  he  gave  to  us  a  nice 
magnolia,  which  was  received  with  a  gratitude  unfeigned.. 

But  I  was  anxious  to  have  a  carpet  of  green  spread  under  the 
trees  and  roses.  So  I  went  to  see  two  of  the  trustees  in  regard  to  it 
One  promised  to  send  his  plows  to  break  up  the  yard  and  also  to  give 
enough  rye  to  sow  the  ground ;  the  other  said  he  would  send  his  disc 
harrow  to  break  the  clods  and  cover  the  seed.  The  work  was  there- 
fore done  promptly  without  much  trouble  to  either. 

In  the  meantime  something  was  being  done  in  the  interior  of  the 
house.  Each  room  was  provided  with  a  neat  waste-paper  box.  Our 
merchant  sent  a  large  calendar — just  the  very  thing  for  a  school-room 
— and  also  a  case  of  maps  which  our  congressman  had  sent  to  him.  A 
Raleigh  friend  sent  a  railroad  map  of  the  state.  As  this  was  on  rather 
thin  paper  it  was  carefully  lined  with  a  heavier  paper  pasted  on  and 
the  whole  was  tacked  to  the  wall  with  plenty  of  brass-headed  tacks. 
A  lady  in  the  neighborhood  gave  two  handsome  art  calendars  of  four 
4 


50 

sheets  each,  which  were  separated  and  trimmed  and  artistically 
grouped  on  the  wall,  making  a  brilliant  dash  of  color.  Collier's 
Weekly  sent  one  of  our  boys  a  picture  of  Dan  Patch.  This  was 
fastened  up  and  delighted  our  little  boys,  and  possibly,  too,  some  of 
larger  growth.  The  large  girls  undertook  to  raise  money  to  buy 
several  pictures,  but  Ave  knew  that  we  could  not  spend  much  on  these, 
as  there  were  several  other  things  to  buy.  So  we  decided  to  invest  in 
the  10-cent  gray  cardboard  mat  picture.  We  have  put  up  seventeen 
of  these  with  brass  fasteners.  By  using  some  discrimination  in  the 
selection  of  subjects  and  shapes  of  mats  and  by  exercising  our  best 
taste  in  grouping  them,  the  effect  is  surprisingly  good. 

The  doors  and  windows  opening  from  the  rostrum  had  never  been 
painted  and  looked  terribly  dingy.  There  was  no  need  for  them  to 
continue  so.  I  bought  two  cans  of  paint  and  a  little  brush  and  soon 
had  them  painted  a  soft  pearl  gray.  It  is  well  laid  on,  too.  I  also 
bought  a  wash-pan,  a  thing  not  exactly  ornamental,  perhaps,  though 
it  has  its  place  with  small  boys. 

But  during  all  this  time  the  great  desire  of  my  heart  was  for 
books.  Misses  Womble  and  Royster  of  Raleigh  had  given  one  book 
each,  and  with  these  for  a  nucleus  we  began  to  devise  ways  to  add 
others.  A  minister  promised  one,  a  teacher  one.  and  a  citizen  of 
Raleigh  sent  ten  or  twelve  volumes.  Although  the  number  of  libraries 
due  to  Wake  county  had  been  taken,  still  I  sent  in  an  application. 
After  some  weeks  a  statement  that  orders  had  been  issued  for  supple- 
mentary libraries,  and  lo !  Ben  Adhem's  name  led  all  the  rest.  I 
marked  the  day  with  a  white  stone. 

To  get  the  ten  dollars  from  the  community  which  would  entitle  us 
to  the  thirty-dollar  library  was  not  easy,  but  finally  the  money  was 
in  hand  and  now  the  books  are  here.  I  should  like  to  tell  just  how 
we  have  used  these  books  and  how  the  non-readers  are  induced  to 
become  readers,  but  that  is  another  story.  But  books  alone  are  not 
sufficient.  Pupils  need  to  read  papers  and  magazines,  and  thus  to 
keep  themselves  posted  on  current  events.  So  the  reading-room 
followed.  Our  miller  gave  the  timber  for  a  nice  broad  shelf  and 
dressed  it,  and  one  of  my  large  boys  nailed  it  up  in  the  music-room. 
Then  the  pupils  were  asked  to  bring  their  papers.  One  brought  one 
and  another  another,  and  the  postmaster  promised  to  give  every  day 
whatever  he  could  legitimately  give  away.  Thus  by  a  little  neighbor- 
hood co-operation  we  have  the  Youth's  Companion,  the  Biblical 
Recorder,  The  Progressive  Farmer,  Charity  and  Children,  The  Or- 
phans' Friend,  The  News  and  Observer,  The  Morning  Post,  and  others. 
The  old  copies  are  removed  every  morning  and  fresh  copies  put  in 
their  places.  Our  book-case  was  placed  in  this  room,  and  the  box  of 
magazines  sent  by  the  Raleigh  Circle  of  Colonial  Dames,  a  bench 
and  some  chairs  were  added,  our  pretty  piano  wheeled  into  place,  and 
now  the  reading-room  looks  very  inviting.  Really,  the  array  of  fresh 
papers  would  do  credit  to  a  more  pretentious  school  than  ours.     The 


51 

pupils  derive  much  pleasure  and  profit  from  the  reading-room,  and  by 
contributing  to  it  themselves  have  come  to  understand  what  a  beauti- 
ful thing  is  the  spirit  of  helpfulness. 

It  happened  that  a  large  tree  planted  last  year  died,  and  instead  of 
removing  it  we  thought  it  better  to  nail  on  some  cross-pieces,  thereby 
converting  it  into  a  trellis  over  which  to  train  a  vine.  A  friend 
planted  a  wisteria  which,  we  think,  will  cover  the  trellis  in  a  year 
or  two. 

A  flower  garden  has  been  made  in  the  angle  formed  by  one  room 
jutting  out  from  another,  and  this  was  at  first  enclosed  by  scrap  wire 
taken  from  bales  of  hay.  But  this  wire  broke  badly  and  afforded  but 
poor  protection.  I  spoke  of  this  to  the  gentleman  with  whom  I  board 
and  he  volunteered  to  give  enough  timber  to  put  a  substantial  fence 
around  it.  The  little  boys  dug  the  post-holes  and  the  larger  boys 
made  a  good  strong  fence  and  hung  a  gate.  This  will  protect  our  best 
flowers  during  vacation. 

After  the  library,  the  need  which  appealed  to  me  most  strongly 
was  the  painting  of  the  exterior  of  the  house.  The  building  is  an  old 
one,  remodeled,  having  had  many  additions  made  to  the  original. 
Five  sides  showed  from  the  front.  The  old  paint  was  white,  the 
blinds  green,  the  facings  yellow,  while  two  walls  and  a  great  tower 
rose  up  iu  front  unpainted,  weatherbeaten  and  just  as  nature  made 
them.  That  house — a  patch  of  white,  a  patch  of  green,  a  patch  of 
yellow,  three  great  gray  blots — every  time  I  went  up  the  front  walk  I 
said,  with  Bob  Burdette : 

"Until  each  staring,  frenzied  wall 
Looks  like  a  crazy-quilt  gone  mad." 

It  was  a  nightmare  past  enduring.  I  bought  some  paint,  got 
instructions  about  mixing  it,  borrowed  a  ladder,  and  my  carpenter 
boy  and  I  laid  it  on.  I  covered  the  lower  part  aud  he  covered  the 
higher  part,  and  between  us  we  covered  about  S00  square  feet  of 
weatherboarding  with  two  coats.  We  did  not  reach  the  back  of  the 
building,  but  we  treated  all  that  shows  from  the  front  and  we  made 
a  vast  improvement.  The  door  was  hung  four  years  ago  with  no 
glass  in  it,  although  the  glass  was  bought  and  two  persons  appointed 
to  put  it  in.  But  the  door  hung  there  four  years  without  glass 
because  the  men  had  never  happened  to  meet  there  when  they  had 
the  glass  with  them.  I  ran  around  until  I  found  where  the  glass  was 
and  then  put  it  in  myself. 

What  has  been  done  has  cost  very,  very  little  money,  but  a  visitor 
who  was  here  at  commencement  said  that  she  could  scarcely  believe 
it  to  be  the  same  old  place  she  had  left  two  years  ago. 

The  green  yard,  the  growing  young  trees,  the  budding  roses  and 
the  white  house  makes  a  pleasing  picture.  Inside  has  kept  up  with 
outside.  Maps  and  pictures  ornament  the  walls.  For  a  center-piece 
we  have  Washington  and  Lafayette,  with  Old  Glory  draped  above 
them. 


A  GREENE  COUNTY  SCHOOL. 


By  Miss  Susie  Kibkpatrick. 


Our  school  opened  in  November  in  the  lower  room  of  Mr.  H.  A. 
Hooker's  pack-house,  this  room  having  been  used  for  a  number  of 
years  as  a  school-room,  as  there  is  no  public  school  building  in  the 
district.  The  pack-house  is  situated  in  a  beautiful  oak  grove,  but  in 
the  rear  of  the  building  the  undergrowth  has  quite  taken  possession. 
The  yard  was  carpeted  with  autumn  leaves  and  grass  and  here  and 
there  ungainly  stumps  were  in  evidence. 

After  getting  acquainted  with  my  pupils  and  their  parents  and 
arranging  my  classes,  I  began  wondering  how  we  could  secure  a 
library,  for  have  one  we  must.  Some  one  suggested  a  basket  party. 
Five  of  the  largest  girls  in  school,  two  or  three  young  ladies  in  the 
neighborhood  and  I  took  baskets  with  lunch  for  two,  to  be  sold  to  the 
highest  bidder.    From  them  we  realized  $15. 

In  the  meantime  the,  president  of  the  county  branch  of  the 
Woman's  Betterment  Association  wrote  to  me  about  the  scholarship 
offered  for  improvement  in  school-houses  and  grounds.  As  soon  as 
the  children  heard  of  it  they  very  enthusiastically  joined  in  the 
improvement  movement.  Before  many  weeks  had  passed  the  leaves 
and  grass  had  been  removed  and  the  boys  had  uprooted  as  many  as 
twenty  stumps. 

We  then  began  to  improve  the  interior  of  the  building.  We  had  a 
new  stove-pipe  put  up  and  twelve  window-panes  put  in  to  replace  those 
which  had  been  broken.  A  blackboard  was  given  to  us  by  the  county 
superintendent.  We  wanted  pictures  for  our  walls,  so  we  gave  an 
entertainment,  at  which  we  raised  a  small  amount  with  which  we 
purchased  a  map  of  North  Carolina  and  pictures  of  John  Alden  and 
Priscilla,  the  Stag  at  Bay,  Longfellow  and  his  Home,  and  three 
pictures  of  fruits  and  flowers,  the  first  two  having  pretty  frames. 
Hearing  that  tbe  Youth's  Companion  would  give  pictures  to  the 
schools  interested  in  improvements,  we  wrote  and  received  pictures  of 
Washington,  Lafayette,  the  Signing  of  the  Declaration  of  Independ- 
ence and  the  surrender  at  Yorktown.  I  advanced  the  money  with 
which  to  buy  a  portrait  of  General  Lee,  which,  together  with  the 
pictures  received  from  the  Youth's  Companion,  I  had  framed. 

Our  desks  were  home-made,  very  rough  and  uncomfortable,  and  so 
high  that  the  smallest  children  had  to  stand  while  writing.  We 
turned  our  attention  towards  getting  new  ones.  From  Washington's 
birthday  celebration  we  realized  ten  dollars.  I  then  offered  a  copy  of 
Longfellow's  poems  to  the  child  raising  the  largest  amount  for  the 
purchase  of  desks.  They  went  to  work  at  once  in  the  community  and 
at  the  end  of  two  weeks  had  collected  fifteen  dollars.     The  county 


53 


board  of  education  then  gave  thirty  more,  so  that  we  have  now  nine 
patent  desks  and  every  child  attending  that  school  next  year  will 
have  a  comfortable  seat. 

In  the  spring  we  returned  to  the  yard,  laid  out  flower-beds  and 
planted  sweet-peas,  pansies,  cannas,  violets,  chrysanthemums  and 
other  flowers.     We  also  have  hyacinth  bulbs  to  set  out  in  the  fall. 

A  gentleman  in  the  community  interested  in  the  work  sent  a  man 
who  worked  four  days  trimming  trees  and  clearing  the  ground  of 
grape-vines  and  broom-sedge.  Then  he  laid  off  a  fine  base-ball 
diamond  for  the  boys. 

A  Betterment  Association  was  then  organized.  Besides  all  the 
pupils,  we  have  eA'ery  mother  and  sister  co-operating  with  us  in  this 
work.  We  hope  by  another  year  to  haye  at  least  a  few  honorary 
members. 

The  girls  took  great  interest  in  keeping  the  room  tidy,  washed  the 
windows  occasionally  and  kept  flowers  in  the  library  most  of  the 
time.  A  number  of  United  States  flags  and  one  Confederate  flag  were 
given  to  me.    On  appropriate  days  we  decorate  with  them. 

Altogether  we  have  made  about  one  hundred  dollars  worth  of 
improvements  inside  the  school-room.  One  child  remarked :  "Our 
room  will  look  like  a  parlor  when  our  desks  are  put  up."  I  shall  try 
to  impress  upon  them  that  it  is  to  be  their  home  and  that  they  must 
keep  it  as  such. 


SNOW  HILL  SCHOOL,  GREENE  COUNTY. 


By  Miss  Mattie  L.  Albkitton. 


Last  August  when  Miss  Edith  Royster  organized  the  Greene  county 
branch  of  the  Woman's  Betterment  Association,  of  which  I  was  made 
secretary,  I  realized  what  an  opportunity  we  had  for  the  improvement 
of  our  surroundings. 

In  presenting  the  result  of  our  work  I  would  first  give  a  short  sketch 
of  the  building  that  was  in  use  in  Snow  Hill  previous  to  the  organiza- 
tion of  our  association.  This  building  was  a  disgrace,  not  only  to  the 
town,  but  to  the  county  and  state  as  well.  It  had  been  built  some 
fifty  or  sixty  years  ago  and  very  little  had  been  done  since  to 
improve  it.  Indeed,  the  hand  of  time  had  brought  the  house  to  a 
most  dreary  and  cheerless  condition.  The  walls  were  broken,  the 
window-sashes  so  worn  that  putting  in  a  new  glass  was  a  mere 
expenditure  of  time  and  money  without  real  benefit.  The  black- 
boards were  almost  too  bad  for  use.  The  desks  had  been  carved  and 
abused  by  "Young  Americans"  for  several  generations.  The  cracks 
in  the  floor,  the  sagging  doors,  the  yawning  weatherboards,  entirely 
relieved  us  from  the  study  of  ventilation.  Indeed,  my  pen  fails  to 
portray  the  desolate  and  bare  appearances  in  and  around  the  school- 
room. We  had  a  library,  though,  and  many  little  brave  hands  and 
hearts  to  help  us  to  better  the  condition  of  things. 

We  accordingly  began  the  work  Our  principal,  Mr.  J.  E.  Debnam, 
drew  the  plans,  and  through  his  untiring  energy  and  with  the  aid  of 
our  friends  and  the  good  old  county  of  Greene,  we  have  now  an  elegant 
and  commodious  building.  In  this  building  are  three  very  large,  well 
ventilated  and  well  lighted  recitation-rooms.  Two  of  the  rooms  are 
separated  by  folding  doors,  enabling  us  to  throw  them  into  one  when 
needed  for  public  entertainments.  We  also  have  in  this  new  building 
a  cloak-room  and  a  cozy  little  library  finished  in  oiled  wood,  the 
capacity  of  which  is  much  greater  than  its  contents,  though  we  hope 
to  do  a  great  deal  to  fill  that  later.  Yet  we  have  somewhere  between 
one  hundred  and  fifty  and  two  hundred  dollars  worth  of  well  selected 
books. 

The  interior  of  the  recitation-room  is  beautifully  finished  with  oiled 
wood,  which,  with  the  white  walls,  is  very  pleasing.  The  black- 
boards are  good  in  quality  and  sufficient  in  quantity.  There  are  a 
number  of  pictures  of  our  statesmen  and  other  strong  men  of  our 
state  and  nation  on  the  walls.  I  have  the  primary  work,  and  the 
pictures  of  birds  which  I  have  in  colors  and  in  black  and  white  are 
especially  enjoyed  by  the  little  tots.  Nor  do  they  fail  to  enjoy  and 
appreciate  the  other  pictures  which  have  been  hung  in  their  room. 

The  pupils  held  a  festival  last  year  with  our  help  and  with  the 
receipts,  together  with  a  small  sum  they  made  later,  bought  an  organ, 


Snow  Hill,  Greene  County  (Old). 


Snow  Hill,  Greene  County  (New). 


55 


thus  enabling  us  to  have  good  music  and  songs  every  morning  along 
with  our  devotional  exercises.  Our  school  bought  aud  uses  an 
unabridged  dictionary,  and  our  principal  presented  to  the  school  a 
book-rest  for  its  accommodation,  so  that  even  the  little  tots  can 
handle  Father  "Webster. 

In  addition  to  the  number  of  pictures  that  have  been  bought  our 
school  has  purchased  a  large  number  of  library  books  and  one  dozen 
and  a  half  United  States  flags.  I  have  had  presented  to  me  for  my 
room  a  North  Carolina  state  flag  and  to  the  school  a  flag  of  the 
Confederate  States.  These  were  the  gifts  of  the  president  of  our 
Greene  county  branch  of  the  Woman's  Association  for  the  Betterment 
of  Public  School  Houses  in  North  Carolina. 

We  have  framed  and  hanging  in  a  conspicuous  place  a  copy  of 
General  Lee's  farewell  address  to  his  army.  Under  the  picture  of 
Washington  and  his  cabinet  we  have  two  swords  crossed  under  a 
shield,  making  quite  an  effective  picture,  with  two  flags  of  the  stars 
and  stripes  above. 

Sixty  yards  of  red,  white  and  blue  bunting  with  which  to  decorate 
on  gala  days  are  now  the  property  of  the  school. 

Indeed,  with  our  new  patent  desks,  pictures,  flags,  etc.,  our  rooms 
are  very  cozy  and  inviting.  The  books,  organ,  pictures  and  decora- 
tions of  all  kinds  with  few  exceptions  were  purchased  by  the  children 
with  money  made  by  them  at  entertainments  and  festivals.  The 
school  children  enjoy  the  work  and  have  an  "association"  of  their 
very  own,  with  officers  of  their  own  choosing.  Many  of  their  mothers 
have  given  us  their  names  and  help  and  four  gentlemen  gave  us  the 
one  dollar  each  necessary  for  them  to  join. 

The  money  that  was  made  at  an  entertainment  during  our  com- 
mencement in  May  was  used  in  painting  the  new  school-house,  which, 
with  its  body  of  sandstone  gray  with  white  trimmings  and  terra-cotta 
blinds,  presents  a  neat  and  attractive  exterior. 

The  belfry,  open  and  imposing,  contains  a  relic  of  the  eighteenth 
century,  an  old  bell  one  hundred  and  eleven  years  old.  It  is  the  very 
bell  that  was  used  to  call  our  grandfathers  and  fathers  to  school  at 
the  same  old  site.  Its  tone  is  as  clear  to-day  as  when  it  left  the 
foundry  in  old  England.  A  tall  flag-staff  caps  this  belfry,  from  which 
Old  Glory,  when  the  days  are  bright  and  breezy,  floats  over  the 
descendants  of  those  who  bade  it  wave  for  their  country  and  her 
freedom.  The  day  on  which  we  raised  our  flag,  all  giving  it  a  loyal 
salute,  was  a  gala-day  indeed.  The  children  enjoy  the  sight  of  the 
flag  in  a  greater  measure,  I  think,  because  they  bought  it  themselves. 

A  closed  fence  has  been  built  between  us  and  the  objectionable 
view  of  the  back-yard  of  a  negro  cabin,  the  entire  cost  of  which  was 
paid  out  of  the  children's  fund.  The  wood-pile  had  long  (dis)  graced 
the  front  yard.  That  has  been  removed  and  the  yard  carefully 
cleaned.     A  well  of  cool  clear  water  is  now  on  the  yard,  the  water 


56 

for  the  school  having  been  supplied  heretofore  from  wells  of  private 
parties  some  distance  from  the  school. 

The  old  building,  so  long  an  eye-sore,  has  been  removed  and  the 
new  building,  with  a  charming  background  of  tender  green,  situated 
in  a  pretty,  clean  plot  of  grass,  free  from  all  debris,  is,  indeed,  a 
picture  that  fills  our  hearts  with  pleasure  in  our  work  well  done,  and 
stimulates  our  minds  and  hearts  for  greater  things  in  the  future. 


A  LOG  SCHOOL-HOUSE. 


A  Dream  of  the  Future  Based  on  Present  Conditions. 


By  Mrs.  Charles  Price.* 


I  wish  not  to  try  for  effect,  but  simply  to  tell  what  happened  at 
our  little  Ellis  school-house.  Ellis  is  not  only  the  name  of  a  distin- 
guished governor — our  war  governor — -Vance's  immediate  predecessor, 
but  the  very  place  of  his  birth  and  rearing.  He  lies  buried  in  the 
quaint  old  churchyard  in  my  town. 

My  attention  was  directed  to  this  particular  school,  because  I 
passed  it  so  often  in  going  to  and  coming  from  a  recently  acquired 
farm.  This  poor  little  school-house  was  so  forlorn,  so  badlv  built, 
so  rudely  finished  and  altogether  so  different  from  my  idea  of  a 
country  school,  that  I  should  have  passed  and  repassed  it  without 
interest  or  comment,  but  for  meeting  the  two  sisters — the  dear  little 
faithful  teachers — Minnie  and  Delia  Swicegood.  They  were  in  the 
toils  of  house-cleaning  for  the  school  that  would  open  the  next  week. 
I  stopped  to  see  whether-  I  could  help  the  good  work.  I  was  most 
hospitably  received,  and  my  suggestions  for  the  comfort  of  the  school 
were  gratefully  observed. 

New  window-panes  were  put  in,  and  Perry  pictures,  to  make  little 
spots  of  interest  on  the  bare  walls,  were  added.  My  next  visit  was 
when  the  school  was  in  full  swing,  with  a  house  jammed  and  packed 
like  sardines,  with  sixty-two  unusually  promising  boys  and  girls. 
They  sat  on  uncomfortable  benches,  with  the  rudest  of  home-made 
desks.  The  room  was  so  full  there  was  no  set-aside  place  for  the 
teacher.  She  sat  here,  there  and  anywhere,  so  patient  and  uncom- 
plaining, so  astonished  and  pleased  at  my  interest,  that  I  was  rebuked. 
The  average  age  of  the  children  in  that  room  was  fourteen  years,  in 
the  primary  room,  ten.  The  attendance — here  I  pause  to  ask  you  to 
consider  the  remarkable  fact — the  average  attendance  was  sixty  out 
of  a  possible  sixty-four.  Many  walked  two  miles  to  begin  work  at 
8 :30  o'clock  in  the  morning.  They  were  never  late,  and  oh !  such 
obedient,  good  children,  so  zealously  trying  to  learn.  Four  families 
in  the  neighborhood  did  not  patronize  the  school,  for  reasons  we  hope 
to  overcome. 

There  are  two  occasions  that  stand  out :  One  at  Christmas  in  the 
Baptist  church,  just  across  the  big  road.  The  neighborhood  was  in 
such  a  turmoil.  Men,  fathers  and  grandfathers  could  not  get  down 
to  work  for  some  days  afterward.     They  had  never  had  a  Christmas 


*This  paper  was  read  at  the  annual  meeting  of  the  Woman's  Association  for  the  Bet- 
terment of  Public  School  Houses  in  North  Carolina,  May  5,  1903. 


58 

tree,  had  indeed  never  seen  one.  One  man  said :  "Why,  it  will  be  full 
of  presents.  I  heard  from  the  committee  that  the  presents  would 
cost  fifteen  cents  apiece !  I  reckon  they  will  be  mighty  nice.*'  The 
children  were  wild  with  joy. 

The  other  occasion  was  Washington's  birthday.  The  little  teachers 
were  very  busy,  and  so  little  older  than  the  oldest  pupils  that  I  had 
to  wait  for  a  word  before  I  could  be  certain  which  icas  the  teacher. 
Many  ready  responses  made  me  know  the  children  were  familiar  with 
our  immortal  hero.  I  said:  "What  was  the  best  thing  about  him?" 
A  freckle-faced,  bright-eyed  boy  answered :  "He  could  not  be  got  to 
lie." 

The  teacher's  method  was  to  offer  prizes.  The  children  preferred 
books  to  anything  else.  The  school  term  was  four  months,  but  the 
money  held  out  for  five  months.  I  had  never  heard  why,  unless  it 
was  like  the  oil  and  meal,  by  divine  blessing.  We  did  not  know  it 
then,  and  we  concluded  to  make  it  an  additional  month  by  popular 
subscription.  The  teachers  had  no  trouble  in  getting  up  the  desired 
sum.  I  headed  the  list,  and  my  example  was  readily  followed.  All 
gave  willingly.  I  shall  stop  here  to  pay  a  merited  tribute  to  the 
woman  who  trained  these  teachers ;  whose  work  has  been  faithful  and 
efficient ;  who  has  equipped  scores  of  girls  in  all  our  surrounding 
country  to  be  better,  stronger  women.  Miss  Eaton  of  Mocksville  is 
her  name.  Our  next  term  will  begin  early  in  November,  so  that  we 
can  have  nearly,  if  not  quite,  six  months. 

The  practical  results  of  my  efforts  have  been : 

1st.  The  pupils  were  stimulated  and  the  teachers  very  much 
encouraged  by  my  visits. 

2d.  The  patrons  were  moved  to  more  interest  in  the  school,  and 
became  keenly  alive  to  the  school  interest  when  presented  to  them. 

3d.     The  prizes  stimulated  many  to   increased  efforts. 

In  view  of  the  results  obtained  in  this  instance.  I  would  respectfully 
urge  that  each  school  be  visited  by  one  woman  appointed  by  the 
county  superintendent.  This  duty  need  not  be  onerous,  as  due  atten- 
tion could  be  paid  to  appointees  being  convenient  to  the  school-house. 

I  have  determined  to  build  a  model  log  school-house.  I  shall  use 
my  first  money  in  employing  a  first-rate  architect  to  give  me  a  plan. 
It  will  look  like  the  pretty  houses  we  have  all  admired  in  Asheville. 
the  shapely  pine  logs  cemented  with  glowing  red.  I  shall  make  a 
canvass  of  the  entire  neighborhood,  and  I  know  my  logs  will  be 
cheerfully  given.  I  want  a  goodly  number,  too,  for  I  shall  have 
several  rooms  in  the  house. 

It  is  indeed  a  poor  subject  that  is  not  fertile  enough  for  a  dream. 
Heaven  help  it  to  mean  more.  I  see  my  log  school-house  in  multiply- 
ing numbers,  with  commodious  rooms,  convenient  water,  to  keep  little 
hands  tidy,  for  "a  clean  body  goes  a  long  way  towards  making  a  clean 
soul."  I  see  modern  games  for  approved  outdoor  exercise,  for  "the 
fun  of  it,"  not  always  the  exercise  that  conies  from  hard  labor.     I  see 


59 


a  library  with  the  best  books  that  men  and  women  write,  placed  in 
a  room  big  enough  to  offer  inducements  for  a  lecture,  with  a  platform 
that  might  serve  as  a  stage  for  plays :  and  if  our  Baptist  brothers 
across  the  way  are  willing,  a  country  dance.  Call  it  any  name,  so  it 
fulfills  its  object  of  "amusement  for  country  children." 

I  see  a  higher  and  nobler  entertainment ;  we  will  call  it  an  industrial 
department.  We  will  teach  boys  and  girls  that  there  is  no  nobler 
industry  than  farming.  We  will  teach  by  actual  experience  that 
wheat  to  pay  must  not  succeed  wheat,  but  clover  or  peas.  We  will 
show  them  that  corn  must  produce  more  than  one  ear  to  the  stalk, 
that  it  takes  less  work  and  more  thought  to  make  farming  pay  better 
than  any  other  vocation ;  and  we  shall  do  it  as  an  object-lesson. 
Land  is  cheap  everywhere  in  North  Carolina. 

We  will  teach  the  girls  chemistry  by  showing  them  how  to  make 
good  bread,  teaching  them  to  use  soda  sparingly,  or  not  at  all,  and 
always  with  sour  buttermilk  or  cream  of  tartar.  We  will  teach  them 
the  properties  of  yeast,  so  that  light-bread  will  delight  the  eye 
and  the  taste,  and  incidentally  restore  the  health  of  the  family.  We 
will  teach  them  to  sew  and  fashion  plain  clothes  and  make  them  fit. 

"Is  this  a  dream  V  Then  let  me  dream  again."  It  must  be  a  reality. 
It  must  be  an  immediate  reality.  I  think  the  house,  with  the  logs 
given,  could  be  built  for  three  or  four  hundred  dollars,  or  even  less, 
for  I  mean  to  utilize  my  men  and  boys,  and  the  girls,  to  make  them 
love  what  they  help  to  create.  If  there  be  left  a  dollar  we  will  pass 
it  on  to  the  next  district  for  their  log  school-house. 

I  see  a  day,  and  God  grant  it  may  not  be  far  distant,  when  we  can 
dot  our  noble  state,  beginning  with  Rowan  county,  with  these  model 
log  school-houses.  Then  the  opprobrium  of  "the  log  cabin  and  the 
pine  tree"  will  be  done  away  with,  and  women  will  count  it  an  honor 
to  be  of  this  "log-house  work."  When  we  realize  what  such  things 
mean,  our  boys  and  girls  will  love  the  country  school ;  they  will  be 
contented  with  the  country  neighborhoods  where  such  "log  school 
houses,"  which  break  the  weary  monotony,  are  maintained :  they  will 
love  the  land  that  calls  for  them  to  stay  and  yearns  in  uncultivated 
loneliness  for  them  to  return. 

Do  you  know  that  the  statistics  in  New  York,  and  I  think  here  in 
North  Carolina,  tell  that  by  far  the  greatest  number,  of  women 
patients  in  the  insane  asylums  are  farming  people?  Cause:  Loneli- 
ness— laconic  reason  for  so  sorrowful  an  evil.  I  would  try,  as  a  help 
or  relief,  my  log  school-house  and  its  accessories.  The  architect  will 
tell  us  just  how  many  trees  to  plant.  Dr.  Winston,  that  indomitable 
educator,  just  how  to  begin  our  little  experiment  farm,  and  he  will 
furnish  us  a  teacher  to  tell  us  how  to  make  everything  else  plain. 
Dr.  Mclver  can  and  will  clear  up  the  way  to  begin  it  all.  for  it  will 
only  take  his  tongue  to  tell  the  story.  The  pockets  will  be  open  to 
him,  for  his  eloquence  is  convincing.  Perhaps  the  echo  will  reach 
Tulane,  and  the  success,   named   Edwin   A.   Alderman,   may  give  us 


60 


his  approval,  which  will  sound  through  America,  as  all  of  his  words 
do,  and  our  success  can  make  a  pathway. 

Oh,  I  have  counted  the  cost !  My  library  can  be  begun  by  editions 
of  Eliot  and  Scott,  Dickens  and  Thackeray,  Cooper,  Encyclopedia 
Britannica,  all  for  $12.  I  saw  the  advertisement.  There  is  the  begin-j 
ning  of  my  $400,  but  if  every  other  help  fails,  I  shall  turn  to  Bookei 
Washington  and  reverse  the  situation  and  ask  him  to  help  me  attaii 
this  object,  and  that  will  settle  the  question,  and,  perhaps,  thf 
mighty  problem  the  world  talks  about. 

In  conclusion,  whether  we  give  time  or  talent,  much  or  little 
money,  ourselves,  or  give  influence :  "Who  gives  himself  with  his 
alms  feeds  three — himself,  his  hungering  neighbor  and  Me." 


